^i— h_-n_ 


REESE  LIBRARY 

OK  TIII: 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


SPIRITUAL*   # 


FRAGMENTS 


Hv  J.  J.  OWEN, 


Late  editor,  for  24  years,  of  the  "San  Jose  (Cal.)  Mercury,' 
Editor  of  "  Golden  Gate,"  and  author  of 
"  Our  Sunday  Talks." 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


SAX  FRANCISCO. 

THE    ROSENTHAL-SAALBURG    Co. 


Knteretl,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  ye:tr  1890,  by 

J.  J.  OWEX, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  I).  (.'. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


TO    TUT,    IIKL1T1.L    < 'o\t  I'A\  ION  . 
EARNEST    WORKER, 

A  M  > 
FAITHFUL    AM>V!:SF.]^RIV,    ADVISER 

IN    ALL    TlJlNi.'.S. 

MV  »;or»ii   \\n   rjiK.riors  \viin-:. 

(TO    A\il»>M    TIIK    sr*i(;j-,S]  ION    AND    INSFIKATION 

OF     MANY    01'     TJfKSK    '"' !'  KA.( '.  M  F.NTs"  IS  DUE); 

IS    THI-s    i;o.  >R    LOVINGLY    DKDK;\TED 

\\\  Tiff''.  .\I:THOK. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  is  a  busy  world,  and  life  is  too  short,  and  too 
busily  occupied  for  one  to  go  a  roundabout  way  to  truth, 
when  the  end  can  be  more  readily  reached  by  a  short 
cut  across  lots.  Most  people  prefer  advice  in  homoeop- 
athic dose*,  and  religion  in  a  condensed  form — the  lat- 
ter, especially,  they  would  have  divested  of  long  prayers, 
and  everything  that  squints  at  cant.  These  "Fragments' 
are  the  mere  flashes  of  thought,  and  as  such,  we  im- 
magine,  will  arrest  the  attention  of  many  minds  when 
the  obscurity  of  a  bewildering  argument,  or  tiresome  es- 
say, would  only  inspire  indifference.  It  is  with  this 
thought  we  send  this  book  of  "Fragments"  adrift,  claim- 
ing for  the  many  and  varied  topics  treated  the  rare  virtue 
of  brevity,  if  nothing  more,  and  craving  for  it  the  kind 
indulgence  of  a  discerning,  but  not  always  sympathetic  public. 

THE    AUTHOR. 

"**          OF  THE  \ 

UNIVERSITY 


CONTENTS. 


Am  1  my  Brother's  Keeper  V      ........  23 

A  California  Winter         .........  39 

A  Lost  Fortune     ..........  33 

A  Grand  Humanitarian  .........  3^5 

A  Well  Rounded  Life      .....  61 

An  Awful  Mystery           ......'...  6? 

A  Hopeless  Place            ..........  68 

A  Monster  of  Iniquity    .........  71 

Almost  There       ....                          .....  72 

A  Sublime  Fallacy           ....                          .             .             .             .  101 

An  Element  Missing       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

A  Sunny  Soul        .             .            .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .  124 

Acquisitiveness     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .136 

A  Weak  Charge    ..........  137 

A  Necessary  Evil             .             .              .        -^""eP    M  IBRXp^-^           '             '  I?l 

A  Paternal  Government              .         f  i^,  «.«^ «*  «rr  T  T3  Q  T  T  "V  )      •             •  '7s 

A  Word  in  Your  Ear 

A  Grave  Mistake 

A  Wide  Gulf 

Adjustment  of  Self  to  Environment       .......  194 

Acting  One's  Best            .........  197 

A  Constant  Struggle       .             .             .             .             .                          .             .             .  204 

Adjustment  to  Nature                  ........  206 

Amending  Their  Creeds                .                           .             .             .             .             .             .  221 

A  Good  Wife ,.22. 

A  Settled  Fact      .....                         ....  2^4 

A  Mother's  Love              .........  241 

A  Wide  Difference            .........  243 

A  New  Meaning                .........  246 

A  Religious  War               .........  251 

All  Travelrrs  in  Life's  Journey                 .......  253 

Brains        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .42 

Huilding  Better  than  She  Knew            .......  69 

Belief  vs.  Knowledge      .             .             .             .             .                         .             .             .  125' 

Beauty  in  Variety            .             .             .             .             .             .             .                          .  167 

Belief         ....                          184 

Blessings  in  Disguise       .              .                           ......  188 

Before  Their  Time           .                                       ......  ^39 

Cold  Comfort     ....  40- 

Clinging  to  Life            ......  58 

Come  With    Me  ^ 


CONTENTS. 

Chronic  Fault   Finding;  .  .  .  ICg 

Comfort  of  Spirit  Communion  .  tr> 

<  'onsolation  in  Affliction  .  .  .  ,53 

<  linking  to  the  Past       ........  tj-^ 

Casting  Seed  Upon  Barren  Ground     .....  ITA 

Orrisitnas  Time  ......  180 

Complaining       .  ....          196 

Contentment      ........  too 

Central  Point  of  Two  Kternities  ....  .         205 

Capital  Punishment  .  .....          2-28 

Church  History  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .         -j-jj 

Come  Up  .  .  ....:..          -250 

Drilt  of  Civilization      ....  .  i .( 

I  Destruction  of  Innocent  Life   .  .  .34 

J  >eath  Natural  and  Painless     ...  .  .  36 

1  Dogmatism         ....  ...  -93 

Don't  Complain  .  .  ....          140 

Does  Prohibition   Prohibit?.     ...  ...         143 

I  >iscipline  of  Evil  ...  .  .         145 

Divine  Symphonies        ....  ...  i6g 

Don't  Crowd     ...  ,  .       .  .189 

Distrust  .  ...  .  205 

Delusions  .  ......         '235 

Enlightened  Thought      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,         '32 

Edwin  Arnold       ,  .  .  •  .  .  .  .  .  .34 

Ever  and   Forever  .........  47 

Earthbound  ....  .  56 

Enlightened  Co-Operation  Necessary  .  .  76 

Emerging  into  the    Light  .  .  .  ,  .  .  .  .          103 

Eyes  to  the   Front  ,.,.,.  .no 

Emptiness  of  Riches       ,  ,  .  134 

Evil  Thoughts      ,  ....  .          ;.; 

Erroneous  lielief  ..,...,,..          -25^ 
Freethought  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,58 

For  What   Purpose  .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  .  .104 

For  Sweet  Charity's  Sake  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .17; 

Fortune's   Ladder  .  .  •  .  .  .  .  .  •         '95 

Faith  and  Knowledge       .  .  ,  ,  .  .  .  .  .          -i; 

Foolish  Pride         .  .  ........         236 

Gravitation  .  .  31 

Generous  Deeds    ....  .  -45 

Groping  in  Darkness      .  .  •        19° 

Get  the  Best         ....  ^34 

Grand  March        ......  -          '37 

Glory  of  Forgetf ulness  .  .  •         ^39 

Giving  What  One  Doesn't  Want  .  ,  .  24 5 

Give  it  Time          ....  .  •         «57 

Homesick  .....  .  •  J5 

How  to  Make  Spiritualism   Respectable  .  56 

Humility  .......  -59 

Home  ....  64 


CONTKNTS. 


Health  and  Harmony      . 

How  Does  He  Know      .... 

How  Little  We  Know      ...... 

'55% 

Harmony  ....... 

164 

Home  Where  Love  is  Not           .             , 

Hallelujah  of  Gladness     

•2  1  I 

How  to  Investigate  Psychic  Phenomena          .... 

232 

Infant  Damnation             .... 

334 

Invocation             ..... 

28 

It  Doesn't  Pay     . 

45 

Is  Spiritualism  n  Religion?          ..... 

97 

If  I  Were  Only  Rich       .... 

103 

1  n  a  Manger          .             , 

131 

Immensity  of  the  Universe         .... 

186 

Ingersoll    .             ... 

198 

In  Wisdom's  Ways          .             . 

222 

Incentives  to  a  Better  Life         .... 

229 

Inhuman  Thoughts          .              .             .              ,              

347 
tff\ 

Kindness                .             .             .         ^^*"Sl^B^     LlBnA^V^^^ 

250 

Love  Alone  That    Saves             .    f^^*      .  OP  THE 
Life  and  Death     .              .             .    f  IQ.JfJ  I  "J7"  E  ~&  $ 

2.3 
28 

Level  Heads         .                                                    .OF 

Law           ....       ^>^C  ALIFORM 

130 

-£.„ 

Love  Never  Dies 

*               IQI 

Life  Unto  Life      . 

163 

Lift  Up  Your  Heads       . 

igw 

Liberalism 

22  A 

Like  Attracts  Like 

235 

Memory    . 

253 

Missionaries 

14 

Mother      ...... 

*5 

Man-Made  Theories         .... 

i9 

More  Good  than  Appears,    Ktc. 

19 

Moral  Death         ..... 

*                   •               22 

Modern  Spiritualism 

39 

My  Soul  and  I      . 

41 

More  !   More  !       . 

5* 

Misfortune             . 

56 

Mediumship  and  Morality 

60 

Moving  Forward 

98 

Man's  Real  NVoith 

in 

Moral  I  )isease 

210 

Mustered  Out 

240 

Nature's  Lessons             .              , 

259 

Not  the  All  of  Life 

43 

Nature's    Works 

96 

Night  of  Horrors 

147 

New  Year              . 

169 

Old  Tradit  ions       . 

231 

Opposition 

36 

OIK.  \Ynrl«1  at  a  Time 

49 

* 

71 

10  COXLKNTS. 

Our  Thanksgiving            .                          .  .                          .127 

Only  for  the  Few               .  .        135 

Our  Good  Old  Mother     ....  ....         r /> 

Our  Funeral  Customs      .                          .  .                                                   .139 

Our  Property        .  .         in,? 

Our  Stewards        .  .                                                      .173 

Old  Age .         201 

On  Trial     .....  227 

One  World  at  a  Time        ....  .                           .        238 

On  to  the  Conqnest          .  254 

On  What  Hapiness  Depends                    .  .                                                  25('< 

Perverted  Mediumship     .                                        .  ig 

Poverty  of  Riches             .  .                                                   •         S3 

Plaint  of  the  Unwise         .  ...          64 

Passing  On             .  .                                                      .151 

Prayer         .  159 

Potency  of  Thought          .  .         166 

Power  of  the  Spirit           .  .17- 

Physical  Courage                            .  180 

Prejudice  •                                                          .187 

Pitiable    .  .97 

Purposes  of  Creation       .  ,       198 

Perversion  of  Christianity  .       MM 

I'oor  Fellow           .  .       204 

Power  of  Wealth  .       219 

Proper  Education  225 

Questions               .  .         u.,3 

.Religion  of   Love  106 

Remedy  for  Crime           .  .124 

Righteous  Judgme**  188 

.Reason    ....  .       230 

Secret  of  Strength           ...  .16 

Strange     ...  .                                                       .17 

Sickness                 .                                        .  18 

Sleep          .  .           39 

Sustaining  ( irace  of  Spiritualism  48 

Sorrowful  Satisfaction     ,....,  66 

Scientific  Methods           .  .                          .           67 

.Spiritual  Discernment     .  7° 

Sword  of  the  Spirit           ,  ,                                                      •      '      75 

Stupendous  Mistake       ,  75 

Skimming  the  Surface    .             .             .             .  ,             .             .                           .107 

Secret  Springs  of  Power  no 

Spiritual  Simpletons       .  ,117 

.Spiritualism  Made  Practical      .  .           126 

Surer  Roads  to  Eminence          .  .             ,          157 

Sunshine               ......  187 

Sure   Indications             .                           .  .                           .                        193 

Shall  I  Give  Up  My  Religion   .....  . 

Something  Better  .,,.... 

Self  Respect        ...             .             .             .  .             .              .             .             .           213 


CONTENTS. 


1  1 


Nights  and  Wonders 
Shortness  of  Mortal  Sight 
Slaves  to    Environment 
The  Dividing  Line 

Twin    Monsters  .  .  . 

Things  that  Wealth  Cannot     Purchase 
The    Chronic  Growler 
The  Virtue  of  Selfishness 
The  Shadow  of   Ecclesiasticism 
The  True    Hero    .  . 

The  One  Bright  Star 
The  First  Awakening       .  . 

Twin  (  1  races 
True  Beauty 
The  Devil's  Philosophy  . 
The ''Knock   Down"   Argument 
Think  Kindly  of  the  Erring 
Teachings  of  Jesus 
'('he  Successful  Man 
Th<-  Years  Wear  On 
The  Spread  of  Truth 
The  Coming  Century 
Tha  Still  Small  Voice 
Theosophy 
The  Thankful  Worm 
The     Down    Grade 
Think  of  It  .  ,  , 

Through  the  Gates    of    Ignorance 
There  Comes  a  Time 
The  Man  Who  Knows       , 
Tendency  of  Society 
The  Right  Way     ... 
The  Church  of  Rome 
This  Old  Earth  of  Ours  . 
The  Sweet  By  and  By      . 
The  Voice  of  Nature 
The  Highest  Good 
The  Inevitable 
Truth 

Unused  Wealth     . 
Value  of  Phenomena 
Veneration 
Virtue  of  ( living    . 
What  Were  You  made  For? 
Where  Responsibility  Lies 
Why  Wait  for  Happiness 
Whence  and  Whither 
What  We  Need     . 
Worrying  God  With  Advice 
What  Can  I  Do?     . 
What  of   It? 


~  „  i 

P  THE 

TTPTR'C;  T  T  "Y 
WW  *Y,BR.SL  *    * 


2  32 
249 


3° 
35 
37 
38 
50 
62 
63 
7° 

99 
ICQ 
105 

in 
"9 

121 
133 

135 


,65 


207 
21  I 
217 
218 


31 
102 

I  2U 

46 

55 
65 

98 
ii  I 
"5 
129 


I  2  (  ONTKNTS. 

What  Care  We?      .              .  .        r8o 

Wealthy  Bachelors  •       209 

Wliat  Changes  Have  Come  .                                                                                          •      2I4 

What  He  Most  Needs,  ....                         .             .         255 


DRIFT  OF  CIVILIZATION. 


The  drift  of  civilization  is  in  the  direction  of  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  field  of  human  reason.  The  time  was  when  to 
think  outside  of  a  certain  prescribed  formula  was  heresy,  pun- 
ishable with  all  manner  of  pious  cruelty.  That  time  has  past. 
There  is  nothing  now  too  venerable  with  age,  or  too  sacred 
with  tradition,  that  man  does  not  claim  the  right  to  investigate 
and  subject  to  the  scales  and  crucible  of  human  reason.  If 
you  confront  him  with  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  he  is  deter- 
mined to  know  when  the  Lord  said  it,  who  said  He  said  it,  and 
how,  when,  where  and  to  whom  it  was  said.  If  you  bring  for- 
ward written  authority  to  prove  that  the  sun  stood  still  to  en- 
able a  certain  ancient  general  to  prolong  the  slaughter  of  his 
enemies,  or  that  another  prominent  personage  survived  the  di- 
gestion of  a  big  fish  for  three  days,  human  reason  will  natural- 
ly question  your  authority.  The  fables  to  which  the  religious 
world  has  so  long  given  credence,  are  brought  under  the  scru- 
tiny of  science  and  enlightened  judgment,  and  if  found  un- 
reasonable are  cast  aside,  as  moral  and  intellectual  rubbish. 


And  why  should  man  not  reason  upon  the  improbabilities 
of  an  ancient  book  just  the  same  as  he  would  upon  any  other 
subject?  There  can  be  no  better  guide  than  reason,  quick- 
ened by  intuition — notwithstanding  we  once  heard  a  good 
Presbyterian  clergyman  thank  God  that  he  had  "a  religion 
that  was  not  based  on  human  reason  ! "  What  would  be 
thought  of  the  sailor  who  should  cast  his  compass  and  quad- 
rant into  the  deep,  and  trust  to  the  winds  and  waves  to  bear 
his  vessel  safely  into  port  ?  When  man  sets  aside  his  reason  he 
simply  throws  his  compass  overboard.  The  time  is  at  hand 


14  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

when  he  will  have  no  religion  that  does  not  square  with  his 
reason.  Why  is  it  that  our  church  pews  are  mainly  empty  of 
brainy  men  and  women,  unless  it  be  because  thoughtful  people 
are  not  content  longer  to  listen  to  doctrines  repugnant,  not 
only  to  reason,  but  to  every  sense  of  human  justice.  Habitual 
church-goers  are  mainly  good  and  respectable  people,  who 
haven't  the  time  or  inclination  to  do  much  religious  thinking 
for  themselves,  but  are  passively  content  to  take  their  religious 
opinions  second-handed'. 

MEMORY. 


Memory!  How  like  an  avenging  demon  it  will  follow 
one  through  life,  and  out  and  on  into  the  infinite  realm  of  spirit 
— the  memory  of  unholy  deeds  !  True,  the  conscience  may 
be  seared  by  many  and  oft  repeated  wrongs,  until  the  memory 
thereof  may  make  but  little,  if  any,  impression  upon  the 
mind.  .  But  there  comes  a  time,  as  God  is  just,  when  the 
spirit  will  reach  its  lowest  depth  of  indifference,  and  feel  the 
first  gentle  promptings  to  a  higher  life.  Then  memory  will  do 
its  work,  if  never  before.  What  ages  of  agony  may  not  the 
darkened  soul  experience  in  its  long,  sad  journey  towards  the 
light !  And  so,  also,  the  pleasures  of  memory  to  a  life  well 
spent — what  can  be  more  delightful  !  The  pleasing  incidents 
of  childhood — a  mother's  tender  love  and  care  ;  a  father's 
thoughtful  guidance  to  a  manly  career — the  joys  and  pleasures 
the  fond  associations,  the  happy  dreams  of  love — how  they  will 
be  borne  to  us  on  memory's  silver  wings,  sweetening  the  years 
of  time,  and  adding  rich  argosies  of  gems  to  the  treasures  of 
eternity  !  There  is  no  accusing  angel  so  relentless  as  that  of 
one's  own  soul — no  all-seeing'eye  so  penetrating  as  that  where* 
by  man  shall  see  himself.  And  this  is  the  true  way  of  life 
from  darkness  to  light — from  the  night  of  ignorance,  to  the 
glorious  day  of  man's  spiritual  unfoldment — when  he  shall  be 
a  law  unto  himself  forevermore. 


HOMESICK.  15 

HOMESICK. 

What  a  dull,  leaden  thing  is  a  human  heart  away  from  its 
home  nest  and  longing  to  return.  The  man  or  woman  who 
was  never  homesick  has  missed  just  one  note  of  agony  in  the 
gamut  of  human  suffering,  that  would  vastly  enrich  their  ex- 
perience to  realize.  We  well  remember,  when  a  boy  of  twelve 
years,  we  left  the  shelter  of  the  paternal  roof  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  life — to  learn  the  printer's  trade.  Eleven  miles  away  ! 
What  an  infinite  distance,  and  what  reons  of  time  were  in- 
volved in  that  first  week  of  absence !  Strange  faces  and 
scenes  all  around,  and  such  an  aching  lump  in  the  breast  ! 
And  when  Saturday  night  came,  with  what  eager  joy  we 
walked  those  eleven  miles  to  be  once  more  coddled  in  the  dear 
old  home  nest.  What  a  joyous  welcome  from  the  six  noisy 
brothers  and  the  one  wee  sister,  as  the  traveler  ( ?  )  returned  to 
them,  and  the  sainted  mother  gathered  her  wanderer  of  a 
great  long  week  to  her  loving  heart.  Ah,  that  was  in  the 
"lang  syne."  Where  now  is  that  happy  household?  All 
except  the  writer  and  the  then  baby  girl  in  some  of  the  many 
mansions  of  the  Infinite  Father  in  the  Beyond  !  And  we 
toughened  and  grizzled  with  the  footprints  of  time,  sit  here 
dreaming  of  the  good  time  coming  in  the  evening — the  Satur- 
day evening — when  our  task  shall  be  finished,  and  we  can  go 
home  ! 

+0  «-  

MISSIONARIES. 


Twenty  missionaries  sailed  from  the  city  of  San  Francisco 
recently  for  Siam,  China,  and  other  places  in  the  Orient,  to 
teach  the  people  of  those  lands  something  about  J  esus.  What 
a  waste  of  good  men  and  women  !  Missionaries,  from  a 
country  that  licenses  rum-selling  ;  from  a  people  far  less  honest, 
or  moral,  in  a  general  sense,  than  those  to  whom  these  mis- 
sionaries are  sent !  How  the  chains  of  a  perverted  education 


I  6  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

must  cling  to  the  limbs  of  these  poor  missionaries.  They  give 
up  their  lives  for  the  imagined  welfare  of  the  poor  heathen, 
who  care  nothing  at  all  for  their  teachings,  unless  it  be  that 
they  may  thereby  acquire  a  knowledge  of  another  tongue.  The 
Hindu  doesn't  want  our  religion,  for  the  very  good  reason  that 
he  thinks  he  has  a  much  better  kind  of  religion  of  his  own. 
He  might  profit  by  some  of  our  science — our  superior  knowl- 
edge of  many  things  \  but  that  isn't  religion,  and  that  isn't 
what  these  men  and  women  go  out  to  teach. 


MOTHER. 


Beautiful  mother  !  How  patiently  and  gently  she  bears 
up  under  the  heavy  burden  of  her  almost  desolate  life.  Deso- 
late, did  we  say  ?  Not  so.  Loving  angels  are  her  daily  com- 
panions ;  they  walk  by  her  side,  through  the  fields  and  over 
the  hills  of  her  lonely  mountain  home — wherever  duty  calls 
her — and  they  brood  her  with  their  sweet  presence  through  the 
silent  watches  of  the  night,  ever  enthusing  her  heart  with  an 
abiding  trust  in  the  All-Good.  At  her  tasks,  early  and  late 
though  not  strong  for  such  arduous  toil,  yet  never  complaining' 
— always  the  gentle  word  and  the  kind  thought,  and  always  the 
comfort  of  others  in  preference  to  that  of  herself.  Grand,  un- 
selfish soul  !  There  is  a  brighter  day  dawning  for  you.  Think 
not  the  clouds  that  have  so  long  lowered  over  your  widowed 
life  have  no  silver  lining.  Already  the  light  is  breaking,  and 
the  glow  and  warmth  of  happier  hours  are  near  at  hand. 
There  are  years  of  happiness  before  you  in  this  life,  and  a 
crown  of  peace,  the  guerdon  of  a  beautiful  womanhood,  in  the 
life  Beyond. 

SECliET  OF  STKEKGTH. 


A  lady  friend,  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  who  had  tramped 
all  day  through  the  busy  streets,  preparatory  to  departing  on  a 


STRANGE.  I  7 

long  journey  by  sea,  dropped  in  to  spend  the  evening  with  us 
recently.  She  bore  not  the  slightest  appearance  of  fatigue, 
and  was  bright,  convivial  and  full  of  life.  We  inquired  the 
secret  of  her  freshness  and  strength.  She  replied  that  she  had 
learned  the  art  of  holding  herself  together,  as  it  were,  and  not 
exhausting  her  vitality  in  her  physical  labors.  She  could  find 
rest  while  walking  along  the  crowded  streets,  by  not  allowing 
other  persons  or  things  to  draw  upon  her  strength.  If  she 
found  herself  becoming  wearied  in  the  least,  she  immediately 
called  a  halt  of  her  forces  and  rallied  to  the  support  of  herself. 
Thus  by  a  prompt  and  wise  exercise  of  her  will  powers  she 
was  able  to  ward  off  physical  fatigue,  and  at  the  same  time  per- 
form a  vast  amount  of  work.  Here  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the 
power  of  mind  over  matter,  and  one  which  we  recommend 
others  to  imitate. 

STRANGE. 


It  is  indeed  strange  that  so  many  believers  in  spiritual 
truths  should  be  averse  to  permitting  the  fact  to  be  made 
known — as  though  some  surrender  of  reputation  depended  up- 
on a  concealment  of  the  truth.  The  time  has  past  when  to 
be  known  as  a  Spiritualist  was  attended  with  any  disgrace,  if 
indeed  there  was  ever  any  such  time.  The  attitude  of  Chris- 
tians who  reject  the  •  positive  facts  of  Spiritualism  is  simply 
puerile.  They  have  pretended  to  believe  in  the  existence  and 
communion  of  spirits  in  a  sort  of  general  ordeific  way,  it  is 
true,  but  without  any  postive  proof  thereof.  Now,  for  them  to 
ridicule  Spiritualists  for  confirming  them  in  their  belief,  with 
proof,  "in  confirmation  strong  as  proof  of  holy  writ,"  is  not 
only  unjust,  but  it  emphasizes  their  own  illogical  attitude  of  be* 
lieving  without  proof!  But  there  are  too  many  good  men  and 
women  in  the  world,  men  of  broad  intellectuality  and  ac- 
knowledged worth,  who  are  open  and  avowed  Spiritualists,  for 
anyone  longer  to  hesitate  to  be  known  as  such. 


I  8  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

SICKNESS. 

Sickness  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  body  at  war 
with  the  spirit.  A  good  lady,  who  had  been  an  invalid  for 
years,  and  is  now  a  great  sufferer  from  a  combination  of  ail- 
ments, said  to  us  a  few  days  ago  that  she  did  not  believe  in 
Spiritualism — thought  it  all  fraud  and  humbug,  that  she  did 
not  want  any  of  her  spirit  friends  coming  near  her.  "  That," 
we  replied,  "is  just  what's  the  matter  with  you,  and  fully  ac- 
"  counts  for  your  ill  health.  Your  attitude  of  mind  towards 
"  your  spirit  friends,  who  would  gladly  bring  you  health  and 
"  strength,  prevents  their  coming  into  your  aura  ;  hence,  they 
"  are  powerless  to  aid  you."  How  much  misery  could  be 
averted  in  this  life  if  people  only  understood  these  spirit  laws 
better,  and  brought  their  own  spirits  into  harmony  with  the 
world  of  spirit  forces  on  the  other  side  of  life.  How  pained 
must  be  the  spirits  of  our  loved  ones,  who  have  left  us  for  a 
brief  season,  to  be  rudely  repulsed  when  they  would  come  to 
us,  with  loving  purpose,  from  their  shining  homes. 


THE  DIVIDING  LINE. 


The  dividing  line  between  "  God's  patience  and  his 
wrath,"  as  the  old  hymn  has  it,  is  something  too  fine  for  human 
reason  to  determine.  For  instance,  the  church  teaches  an 
eternal  heaven  of  infinite  happiness  for  the  saints,  and  an 
eternal  hell  of  infinite  woe  for  sinners.  There  is  no  intermedi- 
ate or  graduated  state  of  happiness  or  misery.  The  two 
places,  or  conditions,  are  separated  by  an  impassible  gulf  as 
wide  and  deep  as  eternity.  But  we  find  no  analogy  in  mortal 
life  to  warrant  any  such  division  in  the  life  to  come.  Here 
the  bad  are  not  wholly  bad,  nor  the  good,  except  in  phenom. 
inal  instances,  wholly  good.  There  are  the  very  good  and  the 
good  who  are  almost  bad,  the  very  bad  and  the  bad  who  are 
almost  good.  They  live  side  by  side  here,  and  closely  impinge 


MAN    MADE    THEORIES.  19 

upon  each  other's  lines  of  life.  If  the  good  in  the  bad  is  to 
receive  no  consideration,  what  is  the  use  of  the  bad  trying  to- 
be  good  ?  Why  punish  a  soul  for  the  bad  there  may  be  in  it, 
and  give  it  no  credit  for  the  good,  especially  when  it  is  trying 
hard  to  overcome  its  evil  tendencies,  which  may  be  the  result 
of  heredity,  or  of  unfavorable  environment?  These  are  ques- 
tions that  only  the  orthodox  clergy  can  answer  most  unsatis- 
factorily !  The  more  they  try,  the  more  they  find  themselves, 
like  the  poor  fly  in  the  spider's  web,  inextricably  involved  in 
the  meshes  of  illogical  logic  ! 

MAN  MADE  THEORIES. 


Compare  the  man-made  theories  of  the  future,  supposed 
to  be  founded  on  the  teachings  of  a  special  revelation  from  the 
Creator,  with  the  truths  brought  back  to  us  by  those  who 
have  solved  the  mystery  of  death.  They  tell  us  a  simple 
story  that  confutes  the  religious  teachings  of  the  ages  ;  hence 
the  church  will  have  none  of  it.  They,  our  risen  friends,  as- 
sure us  that  just  as  we  leave  this  life  we  enter  the  next,  de- 
veloped or  undeveloped,  saint  or  sinner  ;  that  our  status  there, 
at  first,  is  just  what  we  made  ourselves  here ;  that  growth,  by 
good  conduct,  is  possible  there  as  here  ;  that  we  suffer  there 
for  our  misdeeds  here — not  eternally,  but  until  we  have  paid 
the  full  penalty  of  violated  law.  They  invaribly  tell  us  that 
they  have  found  no  heaven  nor  hell,  no  God  nor  Devil — in 
short,  that  life  there  is  a  continuation  of  life  here,  but  under 
better  conditions  for  improvement,  and  that  every  soul  that 
tries  can  find  happiness  sometime  and  somewhere,  and  that 
without  any  vicarious  atonement. 


PERVERTED  MEDIUM  SHIP. 


Perverted  mediumship  may   be  defined  as  that   kind  of 
mediumship  where  spirit   intelligences   of   a  low    order    lend 


20  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

themselves  to  dishonest  purposes.  It  may  be  the  medium's 
own  spirit,  working  independently,  or,  perhaps,  in  concert  with 
spirits  outside  of  the  body,  that  produces  the  false  message,  or 
dishonest  result.  It  was  a  frequent  occurrence  with  a  dishon- 
est slate-writer,  formerly  of  this  city,  (who  was  addicted,  with 
other  vices,  to  that  of  gambling,  and  spent  large  sums  at  the 
gaming  table,)  for  messages  to  appear  upon  the  slates,  signed 
by  the  name  of  the  medium's  guide,  or  some  spirit  friend  of 
the  sitter,  directing  or  entreating  the  latter  to  lend  money  to 
the  medium,  under  plea  of  house  rent  to  pay,  or  great  distress 
of  poverty.  In  this  way  he  obtained  large  sums  which  were 
recklessly  squandered  to  gratify  his  vitiated  taste  for  gambling. 
This  medium's  guide,  through  another  medium,  protested  to  a 
lady  of  the  writer's  acquaintance,  from  whom  over  five  hun- 
dred dollars  had  been  extorted  in  this  way,  that  it  was  not  he 
that  indited  the  begging  messages,  but  the  medium's  own 
spirit  ! 

These  are  important  facts  that  every  investigator  of  psy- 
chic powers  should  understand.  They  teach  us  that  we  never 
should  surrender  our  own  judgments  in  matters  of  spirit  com- 
munications— nor  should  we  accept  as  genuine,  without  ques- 
tion, all  messages  that  purport  to  come  from  our  spirit  friends. 
The  moral  status  of  the  medium  should  always  be  considered 
in  such  cases,  ever  remembering  that  the  message  from  your 
friend  is  liable  to  be  perverted,  or  distorted,  by  the  impure 
channel  through  which  it  comes.  While  mediumship  is  not  a 
question  of  morality,  nevertheless,  morality  in  the  medium  is 
an  important  factor  in  obtaining  honest  communications. 
Hence  it  is  that  we  should  demand  an  upright,  honorable  life, 
and  a  high  standard  of  integrity  on  the  part  of  our  mediums,  if 
we  would  avoid  the  unsatisfactory  results  of  which  so  many  com- 
plain. 


TWIN    MONSTERS.  21 

But  the  fault  of  a  deceiving  message  may  not  always  lie 
with  the  medium.  We  should  consider  well,  in  approaching  the 
sacred  altar  of  spirit  communion,  whether  our  own  hearts  are  clean 
and  honest,  and  in  a  fitting  frame  to  receive  the  truth.  The 
man  who  spends  his  days  in  an  endeavor  to  circumvent  his 
neighbors  and  get  the  best  of  a  trade — the  one  of  impure  life 
and  dishonest  tendencies, — what  right  has  he  to  expect  absolute 
honesty  of  communication  through  any  medium  ?  His  spirit 
friends  may  be  on  the  same  moral  plane  as  himself,  and  who 
vvculd  delight  in  leading  him  astray.  If  we  would  have  the 
best  from  the  other  side  of  life,  we  should  seek  for  the  best 
in  our  own  lives,  ever  aspiring  for  the  truth,  ever  living  and 
.acting  the  truth,  and  ever  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
Infinite  Good. 


TWIN  MONSTERS. 

Prejudice  and  jealousy  are  two  of  the  meanest  attributes 
of  the  undeveloped  human  mind.  The  former  appears  at  its 
worst  advantage  when  it  condemns  without  just  cause,  and  re- 
fuses to  listen  to  that  which  might  tend  to  remove  an  unjust 
conclusion  from  the  mind.  The  Church  has  so  roundly  and 
•so  long  condemned  all  other  ways  of  going  to  heaven,  except 
the  narrow  one  through  its  own  dooryard,  and  especially  does 
it  look  upon  Spiritualism  with  such  disfavor,  that  some  persons 
within  the  shadow  of  its  influence,  whose  habits  of  independent 
thought  are  not  strikingly  pronounced,  have  come  to  shape 
their  opinions  therewith,  without  really  knowing  why  or  where- 
fore. With  narrow  minds  prejudice  becomes  a  raging  demon 
that  will  not  reason  nor  listen  to  reason,  and  so  nothing  can  be 
done  with  it  but  to  remove  the  cause,  or  let  it  tire  itself  out 
with  its  own  cussedness.  We  know  a  grand  soul  and  a  good 
husband,  in  fact  more  than  one,  who  would  dearly  like  to  en- 
joy his  belief  in  our  beautiful  philosoph),  but  can  not  because 
his  wife  will  not  assent  to  it.  And  so,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 


22  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

he  is  obliged  to   forego   what   might  be   a  source  of  the  purest 
and  sweetest  joy  to  them  both.     Isn't  it  pitiful  ? 

The  other  of  these  twin  monsters  of  the  undeveloped  spirit 
is  jealousy,  the  instigator  of  more  domestic  ill  than  all  other 
causes  combined.  Not  even  rum,  the  fierce  demon  of  destruc- 
tion that  has  dragged  down  to  ruin  and  death  so  many  of  the 
fairest  and  brightest  minds  of  the  world,  can  compare  with  it. 
Men  and  women,  who  live  largely  on  the  physical  plane  of 
life,  enter  into  the  marriage  relation  wholly  ignorant  of  them- 
selves as  spiritual,  immortal  beings.  A  sense  of  absolute  own- 
ership in  each  other,  utterly  regardless  of  the  needs  and  duties 
of  the  unselfish  higher  nature  of  the  soul,  dominates  every 
thought,  until  neither  can  trust  the  other  out  of  their  sight,  and 
they  make  themselves  wretchedly  miserable  if  either  merely  ex- 
ercises the  common  amenities  of  friendship  toward  persons  of 
the  opposite  sex.  They  continue  in  this  error  of  the  mortal 
mind  until  they  become  disgusted  with  themselves,  and  repul- 
sive to  each  other,  and  they  fly  asunder,  through  the  divorce 
courts,  to  make  themselves  again  miserable  in  some  new  alli- 
ance. There  is  no  jealousy  in  true  marriage.  The  love  that 
is  enduring  is  too  pure  and  beautiful  to  admit  of  suspicion  or 
jealousy. 


MOKE  GOOD  THAN  AF PEAKS  UPON  THE  SUKFAC'E. 


There  is  much  more  good  in  the  hearts  of  men  than  al- 
ways appears  upon  the  surface.  They  may  seem  cold  and 
thoughtless  of  the  welfare  of  others,  and  even  indifferent  to  the 
ordinary  appeals  of  charity  ;  but  let  some  great  calamity  befall! 
a  community — some  wide  and  fearful  devastation  by  fire,  flood,, 
famine,  or  pestilence,  and  straightway  they  become  heroes. 
Their  hearts  and  purses  are  open  to  the  cry  of  distress.  The 
fact  is,  our  business  methods  are  calculated  to  close  the  aven- 
ues of  sympathy  to  the  needs  and  distress  of  others.  The  strife 


AM  i  MY  BROTHER'S  KEEPER?  23 

and  struggle  necessary  to  hold  one's  own  in  the  competitive 
grab  for  even  the  humblest  means  of  existence,  all  operate  to 
dim  the  divine  glow  of  humanity  in  the  soul,  and  make  us- 
mean  and  unnatural. 


AM  I  MY  BROTHER'S  KEEPER? 

That,  Cain,  is  just  what  you  are.  When  he  is  weak  and' 
you  are  strong,  you  owe  him  of  your  strength.  When  he  would 
wander  in  by  and  forbidden  paths,  it  is  your  duty  to  show  him 
the  better  way.  If  you  see  a  snare  in  his  path  that  might 
cause  him  to  stumble,  it  is  a  crime  in  you  not  to  remove  it. 
For  what  purpose,  Cain,  were  you  given  superior  wisdom  or 
strength,  but  to  assist  those  less  endowed  along  the  journey  of 
life?  But  do  you  do  it?  See  the  multitude  of  young  men 
sowing  the  seeds  of  disease  and  death  in  the  thousands  of  liquor 
saloons  in  the  land.  What  are  you  doing  to  save  them  ?  Are 
you  not  responsible  for  those  deadfalls  in  licensing  them  to  sell 
poison  to  those  young  men?  Behold  the  wretchedness,  misery 
and  crime  all  around,  the  results  of  man's  weakness  and  cupid- 
ity. Are  you  sure  that  your  skirts  are  free  from  all  responsibil- 
ity for  this  condition  of  things  ?  These  are  serious  questions, 
Cain,  and  they  appeal  to  you  for  an  answer.  You  cannot 
escape  your  duty  and  responsibility  in  these  matters  any  more 
than  you  did  that  fearful  homicide  you  tried  to  conceal  with 
the  evasive  question,  with  which  we  commence  this  fragment. 


LOVE  ALONE  THAT  SAVES. 


One  may  belong  to  all  the  churches  in  the  land ;  he 
may  keep  all  the  Sundays  and  holy  days  in  the  calendar ;  he 
may  even  abstain  from  the  use  of  meat  on  Fridays,  and  if  he  be 
not  charitable  and  have  love  in  his  heart  for  his  fellow  men,  it 
will  avail  him  nothing  in  the  life  to  come.  And  so,  after  all, 
it  is  love  that  saves,  and  not  the  ordinances  of  the  Church. 


24  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Then  why  not  dispense  with  all  ecclesiastical  machinery  and 
appliances  in  the  work  of  salvation,  and  depend  upon  love 
alone,  which  any  one  can  have  without  the  aid  of  priest  or 
church.  One  doesn't  need  to  "believe  and  be  baptized"  in 
order  to  be  good  ;  he  need  subscribe  to  no  creed  or  confession 
of  faith  in  order  to  love  his  fellow  men,  bind  up  broken  hearts, 
or  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  needy.  And  that  is  all  the 
religion  that  Jesus  taught. 


SIX  DOIXARS  A  WEEK  ! 


That  is  the  uniform  wages  paid  to  thousands  of  shop  girls 
— clerks,  cashiers,  saleswomen — employed  in  this  city  of  San 
Francisco  !  (Many  girls  are  obliged  to  work  for  much  less.) 
And  out  of  this  munificent  (?)  income,  these  women  are  expect- 
ed to  board  and  clothe  themselves,  and  often  to  support  an  inval- 
id mother  or  sister,  or  perhaps  take  care  of  a  family  of  their 
own?  "Expected,"  did  we  say  ?  No;  they  are  not  "expected" 
to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  Their  employers  know  that  it  can- 
not be  done.  At  the  lowest  estimate,  board  of  the  very  plain- 
est kind,  and  room  rent,  would  absorb  the  entire  amount, 
leaving  nothing  for  clothing,  (and  they  must  dress  tidily,)  or 
car  fare  (as  they  cannot  always  live  near  their  work,)  and 
nothing  to  make  good  lost  time  from  sickness.  This  last  is  an 
important  item,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  many  of  these 
women  are  required  to  work  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  hours  a 
day,  and  often  most  of  the  time  standing  on  their  feet.  What 
right  has  society,  that  tolerates  a  system  of  competition  in 
trade  that  makes  such  wrongs  possible,  to  condemn  these  girls 
when  they  go  astray?  It  will  not  do  to  blame  their  employers, 
for  if  they  paid  higher  wages  they  would  be  undersold  and 
driven  to  the  wall  by  their  neighbors  across  the  way.  The 
fault  is  with  the  system  that  places  every  man's  hand  at  the 
throat  of  his  neighbor;  and,  as  always,  the  wrong  falls  heaviest 


COARSENESS.  25 

upon  the  weakest,  woman,  in  this  case,  is  necessarily  the 
greater  sufferer.  In  the  light  of  these  facts,  should  we  not  hail 
the  day  when  Bellamy's  dream  of  the  future,  or  something  like 
it,  shall  become  a  reality  ?  The  life  we  are  living  is  the  strug- 
gle of  hungry  dogs  for  a  bone,  when  there  is  an  abundance  for 
all,  if  we  only  go  to  work  right  to  obtain  it. 


CO  AK  SEN  ESS. 


It  cannot  be  other  than  a  coarse  nature  that  would  need- 
lessly wound  another  in  his  cherished  religious  opinions.  Thus, 
to  ridicule  what  another  has  been  taught  to  believe  as  sacred — 
the  Bible,  the  Church  or  the  Christian  religion — indicates  a 
great  lack  of  refinement,  as  well  as  of  that  thoughtful  consid- 
eration of  another's  feelings  which  always  ought  to  belong  to 
the  true  gentleman.  Such  manifestations  of  coarseness,  wheth- 
er from  the  public  platform,  through  the  public  paper,  or  in 
private  conversation,  always  arouse  a  feeling  of  disgust  in  the 
reader  or  listener.  If  such  offences  against  good  taste,  and 
ordinary  common  sense,  are  offered  for  the  mere  purpose  of 
insulting  or  humiliating  another,  we  can  only  pity  the  perpetra- 
tor as  a  shameless  blackguard,  but  if  done  with  a  view  to  com- 
pel or  induce  one  to  change  his  opinions,  we  would  suggest  that  it 
is  the  very  worst  possible  way  to  accomplish  the  desired  result. 
No  man  was  ever  converted  by  ridicule  or  abuse. 


KINSHIP  OF  HUMANITY. 


The  kinship  of  humanity  !  By  what  indissoluble  ties  are 
we  not  linked  to  each  other  and  to  the  entire  race — rich  and 
poor,  prince  and  peasant,  black  and  white!  The  same  in 
physical  structure,  and  the  same,  in  degree,  in  all  the  passions, 
impulses  and  emotions  of  the  soul — hope,  love,  memory, 
anger,  joy,  hate,  envy,  jealousy,  benevolence,  kindness — all  in 


26  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

one  and  one  in  all,  more  or  less  developed  in  each,  but  enough 
in  each  individual  to  make  each  one  an  epitome  of  all  human- 
ity. If  we  know  ourselves  thoroughly  we  shall  thereby  under- 
stand mankind  generally — what  is  best  for  their  advancement, 
and  how  best  to  touch  the  secret  springs  that  uplift  the  lowly. 
We  should  never  drift  away  from  this  thought  of  universal  kin- 
ship ;  we  cannot  if  we  would ;  for  Nature  steps  in  with  its  con- 
stant reminders  of  sickness  and  sorrow,  pain  and  misfortune, 
and  finally  with  that  all  potent  and  universal  leveler,  Death,  to 
teach  us  the  oneness  of  humanity.  Think  not,  ye  proud  and 
haughty  ones  of  earth,  that  wealth  or  station  are  yours  of 
right ;  for  there  comes  a  time  when  you  must  descend  from  all 
worldly  fortune  or  eminence,  and  take  your  place  with  the  low- 
liest of  earth — in  the  grave.  The  King  will  furnish  no  dain- 
tier morsel  for  the  worm  than  the  beggar.  Know,  then,  that 
true  and  lasting  preferment  can  be  attained  only  in  proportion 
as  we  love  our  fellows,  and  kindly  help  the  weak  and  erring 
over  the  rough  places- of  life. 


INTELLECTUAL  SLEDGEHAMMERS. 


And  now  comes  "John  Ward,  Preacher,"  on  the  heels  of 
"  Robert  Elsmere,"  to  stagger  the  faith  of  thousands  in  the  cruel 
and  unnatural  dogmas  of  ecclesiasticism.  And  so  the  leaven 
is  working,  and  the  churches  will  ere  long  swing  into  line,  and 
join  hands  with  all  who  have  the  love  of  humanity  at  heart. 
These  intellectual  sledgehammer  blows  must  tell,  for  man  is  a 
reasoning  being,  arid  cannot  always  consent  to  accept  the  fool- 
ish fables  that  have  been  palmed  off  upon  him  by  designing 
men  as  the  truth,  and  which  he  has  been  taught  that  it  is  sin- 
ful to  question.  If  God  is  love,  as  we  are  taught  from  the 
pulpit,  how  is  it  possible  that  he  can  create  souls  for  eternal 
punishment,  knowing  that  when  he  created  them  that  that 
would  be  their  inevitable  doom?  "The  John  Wards,"  and 


QUALITY    OF    GOODNESS.  27 

"  Robert  Elsmeres"  of  the  churches,  who  have  stumbled  upon 
these  questions,  are  bothering  the  preachers  considerably  about 
these  davs. 


QUALITY  OF  GOODNESS. 

What  can  there  be  in  the  quality  of  goodness  possessed 
by  the  Christian,  that  is  in  any  manner  different  from  that 
possessed  by  the  Atheist,  the  Spiritualist  or  the  Jew  ?  Even 
take  the  church  standards  of  goodness  requisite  to  salvation, 
no  churchman  will  pretend  to  say  that  they  are  in  any  respect 
different  from  the  goodness  practised  outside  of  the  church  ; 
neither  will  he  presume  to  say  that  there  is  any  saving  virtue 
in  belief,  or  ordinances,  separate  from  goodness.  So,  we  are 
brought  down  to  the  simple  proposition  that  if  a  man  is  saved 
for  his  good  qualities  within  the  church,  he  must  also  be  saved 
for  the  same  qualities  out  of  the  church.  The  conclusion  is 
unavoidable.  And  then,  what  is  salvation  ?  Is  it,  or  can  it 
be,  anything  more  or  less  than  the  happiness  which  is  the  nat- 
ural outcome  of  a  well  ordered  life  ?  If  the  infidel  lives  to 
bless  the  world  with  loving  thoughts  and  kind  acts,  surely  the 
Christian  could  do  no  more.  Hence,  in  the  Court  of  Eternal 
Justice  both  would  be  entitled  to  the  same  reward. 


It  is  far  better  to  be  educated  to  a  life  of  usefulness,  no 
matter  how  humble,  if  honorable  and  worthy,  and  earn  your 
way  through  the  world,  than  to  carry  a  diploma  from  some 
college  in  your  pocket,  and  live  on  your  friends.  Culture  is  a 
good  thing  to  have  if  the  brain  is  of  the  right  quality  to  profit 
by  it.  Many  a  man  who  would  have  made  a  good  mechanic 
or  tradesman,  or  manual  laborer  of  some  sort,  has  been  spoiled 
by  too  much  culture,  or  perhaps  we  should  say  false  education, 
and  educated  out  of  all  usefulness  to  himself  or  the  world. 
You  can't  make  a  razor  out  of  a  piece  of  hoop  iron,  but  you 
may  spoil  a  good  hoop  trying. 


28  SPIRITUAL    ERAGMENTS. 

INFANT  DAMNATION. 


There  is  not  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  in  existence,  who 
would  dare  to  stand  before  an  intelligent  audience  of  the  pres- 
ent day  and  preach  the  doctrine  of  infant  damnation.  And 
yet  that  is  a  part  of  the  creed  of  election,  or  pre-destination  as- 
published  to  the  world  in  their  Westminster  Catechism.  The 
clergy  do  not  believe  it,  they  dare  not  preach  it,  and  yet  they 
subscribe  to  it.  Is  this  fairly  honest?  Jonathan  Edwards,. 
one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  taught  the  doc- 
trine of  election  with  an  unction  and  vehemence  that  sent  a 
shudder  of  horror  through  the  heart  of  humanity ;  and  the 
great  lights  of  Puritanism  held  that  no  man  could  be  saved  un- 
til he  was  willing  to  be  damned  for  the  glory  of  God  !  The 
church  is  getting  over  such  monstrous  conceptions  of  the  Infinite , 
Father. 

LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


How  beautiful  is  life!  To  the  child  so  full  of  innocent  glee;: 
to  the  young  man  so  bright  with  promise  ;  to  the  middle-aged,, 
so  rich  in  fruition,  if  rightly  lived  ;  to  the  aged  so  encompassed 
with  the  smile  of  Infinite  Love  and  so  joyous  with  fond  antici- 
pation of  the  life  beyond  !  How  brief  at  most,  and  yet  how  full 
of  rich  experience  !  This  is  a  good  world  to  live  in  ;  but  for 
the  burdens  of  time — the  infirmities  of  age — we  should  never 
want  any  other;  at  least  wre  should  be  content  to  wait  a  long 
time  for  the  next.  In  proportion  as  we  make  the  best  use  of  this 
life  will  we  be  prepared  to  get  the  truest  enjoyment  out  of  the 
next.  And  then  no  one  need  be  troubled  about  the  next  life. 
If  he  lives  to  do  good,  and  make  others  happy  here — if  he  fill 
the  air  around  him  with  the  aroma  of  kind  thoughts  and  loving 
deeds — he  will  find  everything  to  his  liking  "over  there." 

How  beautiful  is  death  !     The  tired  nerves  have  become  in- 
sensible to  pain;  the  sorrow7  of  parting  is  over;  consciousness 


A    CALIFORNIA    WINTER.  29 

is  enfolded  in  sleep ;  angel  lullabys  fill  the  dreaming  soul  with 
a  soft  melody  of  bliss!  And  now  so  gently — so  very  gently — 
the  spirit  is  withdrawing  itself  from  its  environment  of  matter, 
— from  the  old  \vorn  out  body — inward  from  the  extremities, 
and  outward  through  the  spiritual  brain.  What  a  wonderful 
change  is  this  !  They  are  there,  the  loved  ones  appointed  to 
be  present  at  the  second  birth  and  receive  the  newrly  born  spirit. 
How  carefully  they  watch  its  reorganization  just  above  the  still 
body  !  How  eagerly  they  note  its  first  indication  of  conscious- 
ness !  If  enfeebled  with  a  long  illness,  the  spirit,  sympathizing 
with  its  earth  condition,  may  require  rest  for  many  days,  as 
we  measure  time,  ere  it  come  to  a  consciousness  of  the  great 
change.  In  all  this  howT  beautiful !  The  bud  expanding  into 
Ihe  full  blown  rose  is  not  more  so.  What  a  delightful  study  it 
must  be  to  those  upon  the  other  side,  though  mixed  with  tears 
of  sympathy  for  mourning  friends  here.  To  many  of  us  that 
glorious  change  is  near  hand. 


A    C'AL-IFOKNIA  WINTER. 


Now  comes  the  beautiful  dreamy  days  of  our  California 
Winter,  (Nov.  i6th. )  The  cold  winds  that  so  long  have 
swept  down  from  the  North,  are  lulled  to  gentle  zephyrs,  and 
the  budding  hopes  of  a  new  year  are  everywhere  apparent. 
The  bare,  brown  hills,  that  seemed  so  desolate  and  desert-like  dur- 
ing the  later  Summer  and  Autumn  months,  are  already  clad 
with  a  rich  mantle  of  green,  and  will  soon  blossom  into  purple  and 
yellow  with  myriads  of  wild  flowers.  No  fierce  blasts  of  East- 
ern Winters  here;  no  dreadful  winding  sheets  of  ice  and  snow. 
Our  rivers  run  joyfully  to  the  sea.  The  air  is  soft  with  mellow 
haze,  and  fragrant  with  the  freshness  of  Spring.  The  birds  are 
nesting  in  the  trees,  and  tender  flowers  bloom  all  around  and 
through  the  Winter  months,  as  during  the  Summer.  What  a 
land  of  beauty  and  of  grandeur  is  this,  our  loved  California. 


30  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

THINGS  THAT  WEALTH  CANNOT  PURCHASE. 


There  are  many  things  that  wealth  can  purchase  to  minis- 
ter to  the  pleasures  and  needs  of  the  mortal ;  but  the  things 
that  concern  us  most  it  can  not  buy,  and  therein  the  poor  man 
is  the  peer  of  the  prince.  It  can  not  command  any  sweeter 
sleep  nor  any  better  digestion  than  that  enjoyed  by  the  home- 
less tramp.  It  can  not  purchase  health,  nor  hope,  nor  happi- 
ness. It  can  not  avert  death.  That  which  many  a  rich  man 
would  give  millions  to  possess — a  sound  pair  of  lungs,  or  kid- 
neys, or  a  well  ordered  heart  or  liver — many  a  reader  of  these 
Fragments  is  richer  than  a  very  Vanderbilt  in.  And  so,  after 
all,  how  empty  and  unsatisfactory  a  thing  is  .wealth,  especially 
when  the  shadow  of  sickness  falls  across  one's  path,  or  the 
rider  upon  the  Pale  Horse  appears  in  sight.  We  are  none  of 
us  as  poor  as  we  might  be,  even  though  the  sod  were  our  only 
pillow,  and  our  roof  the  starry  canopy  of  night.  He,  the  gentle 
teacher  of  Nazareth,  "  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,"  and  yet 
He  possessed  all  wealth. 


THE  CHRONIC  GROWLER. 


The  chronic  growler — we  find  him  almost  everywhere, 
wherever  men  and  women  congregate.  He  is  never  satisfied 
with  his  surroundings;  something  is  always  wrong  with  him, 
and  he  is  not  backward  in  showing  it,  and  thereby  striving  to 
make  others  as  uncomfortable  as  himself.  If  at  the  table,  his 
food 'is  never  properly  cooked  or  served  ;  if  in  the  public  con- 
veyance, the  managers  and  servants  are  sure  to  come  in  for  a 
measure  of  his  execrations ;  if  at  the  communion  table,  he 
would  remember  with  disgust  the  quality  of  bread  and  wine. 
Such  a  man  should  never  marry,  or  if  he  does  his  wife  should 
be  made  of  that  sterner  stuff  capable  of  taking  the  growl  out  of 
him  on  his  first  attempt  to  practice  it. 


VALUE    OF    PHENOMENA 
VALUE  OF  PHENOMENA. 


:XA.---'  31 


It  is  nonsense  for  lecturers  on  the  philosophy  of  Spiritual- 
ism to  under-estimate  the  importance  of  spirit  phenomena  in 
the  work  of  bringing  the  world  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
Man  must  first  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Spiritualism  before 
he  will  listen  to  the  philosophy  thereof.  You  may  talk  forever 
about  the  continued  existence  of  the  spirit  of  man  beyond  the 
grave,  but  unless  you  can  and  do  prove  it,  the  intelligent  skep- 
tic will  only  laugh  at  you  for  your  presumption.  Take  test 
mediumship  out  of  the  Cause,  and  all  lecturers  on  the  philoso- 
phy of  Spiritualism  would  have  to  close  up  their  halls,  and 
turn  their  attention  to  some  other  pursuit  as  a  means  of  live- 
lihood. The  spiritualistic  press,  now  all  too  poorly  supported, 
would  have  to  surrender  to  the  inevitable  and  quit.  Give  us  more 
mediums  of  this  class,  and  better  ones,  if  possible.  They  are 
the  foundation  stones,  and  the  pillars,  that  uphold  the  temple 
of  Spiritualism. 


GRAVITATION. 


What  slaves  to  gravitation  we  all  are  while  imprisoned  in 
these  mortal  bodies  !  A  bird  with  wings  weighte  d  with  lead 
would  not  be  more  so.  True,  we  have  harnessed  steam  and 
electricity  into  our  service,  and  journeys  of  months  have,  with- 
in the  last  few  years,  been  reduced  to  days,  still  we  must  ever  bear 
the  heavy  load  of  a  cumbersome  body,  while  on  this  plane  of 
life.  But  won't  it  be  grand  when  the  spirit  can  master  space 
entirely,  and  on  the  electric  car  of  thought  can  flash  away  to 
the  most  distant  star,  and  in  an  instant  of  time  ?  We  do  not 
apprehend  that  it  is  possible  for  all  spirits  to  take  such  mighty 
flights,  if  indeed  any  can.  Those  of  the  planet  earth  may  not 
be  able  to  go  beyond  our  own  solar  system,  which  contains 
fields  of  space  quite  broad  enough  to  satisfy  any  ordinary  taste 
for  traveling.  We  know  that  disembodied  spirits  can  move 


32  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

over  the  face  of  the  earth  with  the  rapidity  of  thought,  and 
that  some  are  permitted  to  go  on  long  journeys  to  other  planets 
of  our  system.  The  power  to  accomplish  such  marvels  of  loco- 
motion must  be  a  source  of  amazing  delight  to  the  spirit. 

ENLIGHTENED  THOUGHT. 


The  drift  of  enlightened  thought  is  in  the  direction  of  ab- 
solute infidelity  to  all  man-made  creeds — to  everything  that 
hampers  the  freest  investigation  of  all  things  relating  to  man's 
present  and  future  welfare.  The  old  ecclesiastical  bugbear, 
"  Believe  or  be  damned,"  no  longer  frightens  anybody.  The 
people  have  come  to  see  that  it  is  only  a  scarecrow  with  an 
imitation  gun.  Thus,  from  one  position  to  another,  have  they 
advanced,  until  the  intelligent  world  has  come  to  see  that 
the  whole  plan  of  salvation,  with  all  of  its  dogmas  of  God  and 
the  devil,  the  creation  and  fall  of  man,  the  vicarious  atone- 
ment, heaven  and  hell,  etc.,  are  only  the  foolish  fancies  and 
fictions  of  undeveloped  minds,  which  must  be  swept  aside  for 
something  higher  and  better ;  and  that  the  only  things  in  the 
traditions  of  the  church  worth  preserving,  and  of  which  the 
church  even  has  never  been  overstocked,  is  LOVE,  the  all- 
potent  factor  in  man's  redemption  and  exaltation. 

When  we  remember  the  centuries  of  fierce  theological 
teaching  to  which  the  race  has  been  subjected,  we  can  but 
wonder  that  there  are  so  many  good  people  in  the  world 
as  there  are — so  many  generous  hearted  and  sympathetic 
people.  The  thoughts  of  an  all-loving  purpose  in  creation,  and 
that  all  seeming  evil  is  but  undeveloped  good  that  will  disap- 
pear with  man's  spiritual  unfoldment,  is  but  just  dawning  upon 
the  world.  It  is  breaking  in  streams  of  roseate  light  all  around 
the  sky,  and  the  dark  shadows  of  Omnipotent  wrath  are 
rapidly  melting  away. 


A    LOST    FORTUNE. 
A  LOST  FORTUNE. 


That  was  an  odd  and  somewhat  suggestive  way  of  stating 
the  case,  as  we  read  the  other  day  in  a  smart  newspaper — 
"Henry  R.  Simpson  lost  two  million  dollars  last  evening  in 
"less  than  a  minute — from  heart  disease."  It  was  a  great  mis- 
fortune to  Henry  Simpson,  that  he  should  have  had  that 
amount  of  money  to  lose,  for  what  else  does  any  rich  man, 
who  does  nothing  for  the  world,  do  with  his  money  when  he 
dies  but  lose  it  ?  The  only  way  not  to  lose  it  is  to  make  a  good 
use  of  it  before  he  dies.  If  he  leaves  it  for  imprudent  and  un- 
thrifty heirs  to  squander,  he  not  only  loses  it,  but  he  does  them 
an  incalculable  mischief  as  well.  If  man  were  to  live  on  this 
plane  forever,  and  especially  if  the  infirmities  of  age  should 
render  it  impossible  for  him  to  acquire  more,  there  might  be  a 
good  reason  for  his  holding  on  to  all  he  could  get ;  but  old  age 
should  remind  him  that  he  is  about  through  with  this  mortal 
existence,  and  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when  he  will  no  longer 
have  any  use  for  money,  or  property  of  any  kind.  There  is 
nothing  so  tests  the  quality  of  a  rich  man's  nature,  as  the  ap- 
peal of  approaching  dissolution,  to  "render  unto  C?esar  the 
things  which  are  Caesars,  and  unto  God  the  things  which  are 
God's.''  Governor  and  Mrs.  Stanford,  guaged  by  this  test,  are 
not  found  wanting ;  neither  is  Eunice  S.  Sleeper,  nor  other  roy- 
al souls  we  could  name. 


"  No  man  can  be  wise  without  love,  and  no  woman  can 
truly  love  and  not  be  wise,"  so  says  Ernst  von  Himmel,  in  his 
new  and  charming  book,  "  The  Discovered  Country."  Wisdom 
and  love  must  go  through  life  hand  in  hand,  or  there  is  no  real- 
ity or  happiness  in  either.  All  of  the  inharmony  growing  out 
of  perverted  love  results  from  the  absence  of  wisdom.  In  the 
life  beyond  they  understand  these  things  better  than  they  do 
here. 


34  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  INNOCENT  LIFE. 


What  preverted  taste — what  cruel  ideas  of  pleasure,  men 
have  who  destroy  harmless  birds,  for  the  mere  love  of  killing. 
Of  all  this  cruel  pastime,  that  of  trap  shooting  seems  the  most 
heartless  and  diabolical.  The  most  harmless  of  birds,  usually 
the  dove  or  wild  pigeon,  is  placed  in  a  small  box,  from  which 
by  means  of  a  trap  door  and  string,  it  is  sent  forth  into  its  na- 
tive air,  only  to  fall  bleeding  and  dying  at  the  hand  of  some 
savage  lout,  who  stands  ready,  with  gun  in  hand,  to  kill.  And 
this  is  sport  !  If  there  was  such  a  place  in  the  universe  as  a 
bottomless  pit  and  a  personal  Devil,  and  the  latter  should  lay 
in  wait  by  the  mouth  of  the  former,  with  his  regulation  pitch ~ 
fork  and  pitch  the  unwary  trap  shooter  therein,  at  the  first  op- 
portunity, could  any  one  be  blamed  for  objecting, — that  is,  if 
there  was  a  way  provided  for  pulling  him  out  when  he  had 
properly  profited  by  his  experience? 


EDWIN  ARNOLD. 


No  sweeter  singer  ever  climbed  the  holy  mount  of  song 
— none  ever  swept  the  lyre  to  a  grander  purpose,  than  Edwin 
Arnold,  author  of  "Light  of  Asia."  His  poetry  is  full  of  soul, 
as  well  as  of  that  nameless  grace  of  art  that  rounds  out  every 
part,  and  stamps  the  seal  of  genius  on  each  classic  line. 
Schooled  in  the  glowing  imagery  of  the  Orient,  familiar  with 
its  deepest  lore  and  oldest  language,  and  yet  an  adept  in 
all  the  sweet  forms  of  English  speech,  he  can  play  upon  the 
deepest  emotions  of  the  soul  with  a  master's  hand.  His  "Good 
Night !  Not  Good  Bye,"  written  in  memory  of  his  wife,  who 
passed  on  to  her  home  among  the  angels  a  few  months  ago, 
for  tender  pathos  and  exquisite  sweetness  of  expression,  has  no 
equal  in  our  language.  No  one  can  read  such  poetry  with- 
out feeling  himself  drawn  nearer  to  the  heart  of  the  Infinite 
Good. 


THE    VIRTUE    OF    SELFISHNESS.  35 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  SELFISHNESS. 

Selfishness  is  usually  condemned  unqualifiedly  as  a  deplor- 
able vice,  and  yet  we  cannot  see  how,  in  the  present  incongruous 
condition  of  society,  it  can  well  be  wholly  dispensed  with. 
There  is  a  kind  of  ravenous  selfishess  that  "  wants  the  earth," 
which  of  course  is  a  curse  to  the'world,  and  cannot  be  too  loud- 
ly condemned.  But  the  selfishness  that  prompts  one  to  take 
good  care  of  himself,  and  look  out  for  the  welfare  of  his  fam- 
ily becomes  a  virtue  under  the  existing  social  order.  If  one 
"  sells  all  that  he  has  and  gives  it  to  the  poor,"  as  Jesus  sug- 
gested was  a  proper  thing  for  a  certain  rich  man  to  do  in  his  time, 
there  is  a  probability  that  in  this  day  and  generation,  one  would 
find  himself,  when  too  old  to  work  for  his  daily  bread,  an  in- 
mate of  the  poor-house.  We  could  never  see  any  virtue  in 
poverty,  at  the  same  time  who  can  but  admire  the  sterling  un- 
selfishness of  the  one  who  would  share  his  last  dollar  with  a 
suffering  brother  mortal. 

+O+ 

A  GRAND  HUMANITARIAN. 

That  noble  woman  and  grand  humanitarian,  Mrs.  Leland 
Stanford,  who,  with  her  husband,  has  given  vast  sums  for  hu- 
manity's sake,  is  reported  as  saying  that  she  hoped  it  might  be 
her  lot  "  to  die  poor."  Ah,  that  is  the  sweetest  poverty  the 
world  ever  knew,  that  surrenders  all  worldly  wealth  for  the 
good  of  others.  How  such  deeds  blossom  into  glory,  and 
clothe  the  immortal  spirit  in  raiment  of  light.  The  wealth  that 
belongs  simply  to  the  things  of  time  bears  no  comparison  to 
the  riches  of  the  spirit.  One  is  dross,  the  other  pure  gold — 
one  the  shadowy  thing  of  a  day,  the  other  the  substantial  riches 
of  eternity,  that  shall  increase  and  grow  brighter  with  the  ages. 
Go  on,  royal  souls ;  there  is  preparing  for  you  a  home  in  the 
life  beyond,  in  comparison  with  which  all  earthly  palaces  are 
the  veriest  hovels.  Only  a  few  years  hence,  at  most,  and  you 


36  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

will  enter  upon  your  possessions.  Life  will  then  have  for  you  a 
meaning  and  a  grandeur  of  which  this  life  is  but  the  faintest 
suggestion.  How  like  unto  Him  who  gave  his  all,  even  his 
life,  for  the  good  of  others. 


DEATH  NATURAL  AND   PAINLESS. 


The  thought  of  death  is  a  great  terror  to  many  people — 
the  thought  that  they  must  grow  old  and  die,  and  their  bodies  be 
consigned  to  the  grave.  But  why  should  it  be  ?  In  sleep  the 
body  simulates  death  in  all  except  the  physical  awakening. 
The  spirit  passes  out  and  into  other  scenes  and  enjoyments, 
and  no  doubt,  often,  to  the  companionship  of  spirits  on  the 
other  side  of  life.  We  do  not  dread  sleep;  why  should  we 
dread  death,  which  is  quite  as  natural  and  painless.  Even 
were  there  no  hope  of  a  hereafter,  there  surely  could  be  no  de- 
sire to  live,  if  life  were  unendurable  from  pain  or  other  causes) 
But  that  which  most  reconciles  one  to  endure  the  ills  of  time 
and  the  pains  of  sickness  to  the  end,  is  the  knowledge  that  the 
spirit  needs  all  these  experiences  to  best  prepare  it  for  the  real- 
ities of  the  life  to  come.  While  no  true  Spiritualist  has  any 
doubts  or  misgivings  as  to  the  future,  he  is  nevertheless  willing 
to  remain  here  his  allotted  time,  and  endure  patiently  until  the 
end. 


OLD  TRADITIONS. 


It  appeals  to  us  that  our  religious  teachers  spend  altogeth- 
er too  much  time  in  studying  the  ancient  writings  which  have 
been  compiled  into  a  book  (millions  say  The  Book),  and  alto- 
gether too  little  in  studying  themselves,  and  teaching  the  laws 
of  life  and  health  as  they  find  them  engraven  on  the  tablets  of 
their  own  constitutions.  It  would  seem'  to  be  self-evident  that 
whatever  may  be  a  revelation  to  one  person,  in  a  past  age,  can- 
not, in  the  nature  of  things,  be  a  revelation  to  another  person 


THE    SHADOW    OF    ECCLESI ASTICISM.  37 

in  another  age.  We  would  not  deprecate  the  grand  precepts  of 
life  and  duty  embodied  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  although 
we  would  much  prefer  to  have  said  precepts  and  teachings  dis- 
entangled from  the  mass  of  rubbish  in  which  we  find  them 
involved  ;  still,  there  is  so  much  we  need  to  learn,  of  which  the 
Bible  tells  us  nothing,  that  it  does  seem  as  though  some  of  the 
'time  spent  in  Bible-class  and  Sunday-school,  as  well  as  in 
church  service  generally,  might  better  be  devoted  to  lessons  in 
hygiene  and  the  science  of  right  living.  What  better  is  a  man 
•off  from  listening  to  a  sermon  from  a  Second  Adventist,  on  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked,  or  a  Calvinist  on  predestination,  or 
infant  damnation?  What  more  does  he  know  after  being  taught 
-the  doctrine  of  three  Gods  in  one,  or  the  necessity  of  killing  one 
of  the  three,  which  was  the  entire  three,  to  satisfy  the  sense  of 
justice  of  the  other  two,  which  was  himself,  as  the  only  means 
•of  saving  man  from  the  consequences  of  his  imaginary  fall  ? 
In  the  light  of  the  new  truths  now  breaking  upon  the  world, 
•these  old  traditions  are  fast  fading  away. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  ECCI.ESIASTICISM. 

How  dark  the  shadow  of  the  grave  that  the  Church  has 
thrown  across  the  pathway  of  human  life  !  Centuries  of  horror  ! 
A  world  plunged  into  a  vortex  of  everlasting  woe,  with  no 
escape  except  by  a  method  repugnant  to  every  honorable 
-soul !  No  man  can  shirk  the  responsibility  of  his  own  sinful 
acts,  in  a  vicarious  way,  without  lowering  himself,  thoughtlessly 
it  may  be,  in  the  estimation  of  every  bright  and  manly  intelli- 
gence in  the  universe.  And  then  so  very  few,  comparatively, 
are  permitted  to  escape  by  "  casting  their  sins  upon  Jesus." 
The  great  multitude,  including  mighty  nations,  cast  into  hell 
because  they  reject  a  narrow,  priest-made  plan  of  salvation  ! 
Great  minds,  like  those  of  Edwin  Arnold,  Huxley,  Humboldt, 
Spencer,  Wallace,  Darwin,  and  hosts  of  others,  all  consigned  to 


38  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

eternal  torment,  because  they  have  a  grander  conception  of  the 
Creator,  and  a  truer  appreciation  of  man's  proper  place  in  the 
universe,  than  to  believe  in  the  monstrous  dogmas  taught  from 
Christian  pulpits  today ! 

And  yet,  how  the  Church  has  garnered  the  spiritual 
thoughts  of  millions  of  the  human  race.  It  contained  all'  of 
spiritual  truths  they  knew,  cruel,  despotic  and  vindictive  as  it 
often  was,  and  on  its  altars,  red  at  times  with  the  blood  of 
martyrs,  has  been  laid  the  purest  and  holiest  faith,  the  sweetest 
love,  the  most  undying  devotion  of  the  human  heart.  How 
grandly  have  devout  men  and  tender  women  gone  to  the  stake, 
and  amid  the  cruel  flames  that  rioted  through  every  avenue  of 
mortal  agony,  sang  hosannahs  to  the  Lamb,  the  gentle  Nazar- 
ene,  in  whom  they  placed  their  trust.  No  doubt  that  same 
Jesus  was  able,  in  many  instances,  through  laws  that  Spiritual- 
ism has  revealed  to  the  world,  to  sustain  them  in  that  mortal 
hour,  and  give  them  happy  and  painless  exit  from  this  world  of 
sorrow.  It  is  not  the  religion  of  Christianity  that  we  condemn, 
by  any  means,  but  only  the  fungus  growths  of  ignorance,  bar- 
barism and  superstition  that  have  fastened  to  its  vitals. 
+/->+ 

THE  TRUE  HERO. 


He  who  gives  himself  up  to  the  indulgence  of  aught  that 
injures  the  body  or  degrades  the  spirit  surrenders  to  the  enemy 
without  making  his  best  fight.  He  virtually  throws  open  the 
gates  of  the  citadel  and  invites  the  enemy  to  enter  in.  Life  is; 
a  constant  struggle,  and  he  only  is  the  true  hero  who  makes 
the  most  valiant  defense  of  himself  against  all  the  encroach- 
ments of  evil.  Victory  over  self  is  within  the  reach  of  every 
one.  That  some  fail  is  simply  because  they-  do  not  do  their  best. 
And  so  they  must  needs  try  again,  on  another  plane  of  exist 
ence,  or  perhaps  on  this.  We  may  not  know  where  ;  but  this, 
we  know,  the  victory  must  be  gained  somewhere. 


SLEEP.  39 

SLEEP. 


Sweet  sleep !  That  comes  like  a  balmy  wave  of  forgetful- 
ness  over  the  spirit,  and  all  the  troubles  and  cares  of  the  day 
— its  heartaches  and  sorrows — 

"  Fold  their  tents  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  silently  steal  away  !" 

O,  beautiful  Sleep !  Faint  counterpart  of  death  !  Blessed 
friend  and  comforter  !  Who  does  not  love  to  rest  in  thy  shelt- 
ering arms  !  When  the  shadows  of  night  curtain  the  drowsy 
earth,  and  the  stars  come  forth  to  hold  their  silent  watch  in  the 
sky ;  when  the  wanton  bee,  lawless  ravisher  of  the  flowers, 
returns  from  his  last  flight  at  eve,  and  the  mother  bird  gathers 
her  brood  under  her  faithful  wing, — then  the  tired  toiler  in  the 
field  or  by  the  forge,  lays  his  burden  down,  and  bows  his  head 
to  thy  gentle  caress.  And  thus,  on  and  on,  day  by  day,  till  the 
last  sleep  shall  come  to  the  weary  eye-lids,  the  sleep  that  knows 
no  waking  on  an  earthly  morrow  !  So  may  it  come  to  the  tired 
heart,  stealing  over  the  senses  as  gently  as  falls  the  summer 
dew,  and  all  mortal  pain  shall  be  dumbed  forevermore. 


MOllAL    I>EATH. 


If  all  the  people  were  buried  who  are  dead  the  cemeteries 
would  not  be  large  enough  to  contain  them, — that  is,  morally 
dead,  which  is  simply  indifference  to  the  growth  and  needs  of 
the  spirit.  When  a  man  closes  his  heart  to  the  appeals  of  his 
sorrowing  and  suffering  fellow  beings,  and  lives  simply  in  him- 
self and  for  himself,  he  is  dead,  and  the  sooner  he  is  placed 
under  the  ground  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  living.  There  are 
other  kinds  of  death  than  those  followed  by  immediate  decay  of 
the  physical  body.  Petrefaction,  crystallization,  and  stagnation 
of  the  spirit — what  is  this  but  death,  and  death  in  its  most 
repulsive  form.  Blessed  be  the  man  that  can  rise  superior  to 
this  kind  of  death. 


40  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

COLD  COMFORT. 


The  editor  of  Freethought  is  asked  to  publish  a  death 
notice  of  the  little  two  year  old  son  of  a  friend,  with  the  added 
request  that  the  editor  would  "  add  what  consolation  there 
may  be  to  offer."  Here  is  the  proffered  consolation  (?)  : 
"We  can  say  that  there  is  no  consolation  except  the 
"  knowledge  that  merciful  Time  may  lessen  the  acuteness 
"  of  grief;  that  sorrow  consumes  itself  at  last;  that  whatever  of 
"trouble  might  have  been  in  store  for  the  littleone,  had  he 
"lived,  is  spared  him  now."  If  we  had  nothing  more  to 
offer  a  stricken  heart,  we  would  ask  to  be  excused  and 
say  nothing.  Why  will  our  freethought  friends  persist  in 
repudiating  evidence  of  the  future  life  that  is  as  palpable  as 
sight,  as  positive  as  touch,  and  as  clearly  established  as  the 
proof  of  mortal  existence — that  is,  to  millions  of  the  race. 
There  is  nota  whit  more  improbability  of  a  continued  existence 
of  the  spirit  of  man  beyond  the  confines  of  the  grave,  even 
were  there  no  evidence  of  the  fact,  than  there  is  that  he  exists 
here.  There  is  no  more  mystery  about  the  one  life  than  the 
other.  If  there  was  no  future  life  (and  we  know  there  is), 
then  Nature  is  an  infinite  cheat,  as  far  as  man  is  concerned. 
She  completes  everything  else  she  undertakes ;  why  should  she 
make  an  exception  of  him?  She  brings  him  up  to  a  point 
where  his  longing  soul  has  just  begun  to  aspire  for  knowledge, 
and  then  she  snuffs  him  out  of  the  universe  !  No,  no,  neigh- 
bor ;  you  are  on  the  wrong  tack. 


It  is  your  small  man  that  makes  the  greatest  fuss  about 
little  things.  He  will  fume  and  fret,  and  abuse  his  wife,  about 
the  loss  of  a  gimlet,  and  work  himself  into  a  rage  over  trifles 
that  would  not  ruffle  the  repose  of  one  of  larger  capacity.  No 
one,  perhaps,  can  help  being  small,  but  surely  he  ought  to  be 
able  to  avoid  showing  it. 


MODERN    SPIRITUALISM.  41 

MODERN  SPIRITUALISM. 


How  grand  the  prospect.  Out  from  the  caves  of  darkness 
and  superstition — from  crypts  venerable  with  age  and  hoary 
with  tradition — steps  forth  a  beautiful  maiden,  radient  with  the 
light  of  a  new  day.  Her  name  is  Modem  Spiritualism.  In 
her  hand  she  bears  a  banner  on  which  are  inscribed  the  words: 
"Love,  the  fulfillment  of  the  law,  the  redemption  of  the  race.'' 
She  is  greeted  with  derision  by  the  conservatism  of  science,  and 
the  intolerance  and  bigotry  of  the  Church.  The  respectable 
cowardice  of  the  world  gathers  her  garments  aside  to  let  her 
pass.  But  steadily  onwrard,  following  the  sunlight  of  Eternal 
Truth,  she  moves  forward  writh  the  air  and  mien  of  an  angel 
from  the  upper  planes  of  life.  And  following  her  lead,  behold 
the  mighty  hosts,  coming  up  from  all  nations,  and  all  walks  o 
life  !  The  shackles  are  falling  from  their  limbs — the  scales 
from  their  eyes.  Truly,  the  day  of  jubilee,  the  dawning  of  the 
new  era,  is  at  hand  ! 

The  heart  that  is  not  touched  with, pity  at  another's 
failings  and  weaknesses,  as  well  as  at  his  misfortunes,  has  only 
learned  one-half  of  its  lesson  of  humanity.  What  credit  is  it  to 
you  that  you  are  not  a  beggar,  a  drunkard,  or  a  thief?  Had 
you  been  fashioned  of  poorer  stuff,  and  environed  with 
wretched  associations  from  infancy,  then  what?  Be  thankful 

for  yourself,  and  press  on  in  the  better  way. 

#  •£ 
-& 

He  who  saves  all  his  smiles  and  kind  words  for  his  neigh- 
bors, and  bestows  nothing  but  frowns  and  abuse  upon  his 
wife  and  children,  has  not  yet  learned  the  alphabet  of  life. 
He  needs  the  chastening  hand  of  some  great  sorrow  to  make 
his  heart  tender  and  teach  him  his  duty  to  his  family.  Noth- 
ing so  undermines  the  natural  meanness  of  such  a  man,  as  the 
sight  of  the  white,  dead  face  of  the  wife,  who,  in  his  better  mo- 
ments, has  nestled  lovingly  in  his  arms. 


42  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

BRAINS. 


•'Blood  will  tell, "is an  old  but  somewhat  inelegant  adage, 
borrowed  from  the  race-track.  So  will  brains.  If  one  expects 
to  get  the  upper  hand  of  the  world,  he  must  not  imagine  he 
can  do  so  without  an  effort,  nor  that  he  can  succeed  without 
putting  into  vigorous  exercise  his  keenest  faculties.  The  num- 
ber of  people  "born  with  a  gold  spoon  in  the  mouth,"  is  very 
few.  And  even  the  pampered  sons  of  wealth  naturally  find  it  a 
hard  task  to  hold  on  to  their  possessions  without  brains.  They  gen- 
erally possess  so  many  expensive  vices  that  ere  they  are  aware, 
they  find  themselves  broken  down  in  health,  and  their  wealth 
scattered  to  the  winds.  It  is  an  actual  blessing  to  most  people 
that  they  are  born  poor,  that  is,  if  they  are  naturally  good  for 
anything.  They  thereby  acquire  habits  of  thrift  and  economy 
most  essential  to  health  as  well  as  to  success  in  life.  Where  the 
material  is  bad  it  makes  but  little  difference  how  they  are  born 
— rich  or  poor.  They  will  be  apt  to  make  a  bad  job  of  it  in 
any  case. 


Kindness  is  the  only  true  educator  for  an  erring  soul. 
You  must  develop  his  better  nature — call  forth  the  good  there 
is  in  him — and  the  bad  will  naturally  cease  to  manifest.  You 
cannot  do  this  by  harsh  words  or  cruel  treatment.  You  can 
educate  him  in  the  better  way  only  by  the  exercise  of  a  tender 
sympathy  growing  out  of  a  proper  understanding  of  your  rela- 
tions to  each  other. 

*       # 
* 

We  pity  the  stricken  one,  wrho,  standing  by  the  open  grave 
of  his  heart's  idol,  believes  that  "death  ends  all."  O,  the 
night  of  dark  despair  !  the  impenetrable  gloom  of  hopeless  woe  ! 
What !  Is  such  to  be  the  horrible  fruition  of  human  love — of 
the  tender  yearning  for  another's  welfare  that  reaches  out  to  the 
very  stars?  No,  no!  the  All-Father  and  Creator  is  no  such 
monster. 


NATURE'S  LESSON.  43 

NATURE'S  -LESSONS. 


All  nature  is  pointed  with  useful  lessons  for  man's  spiritual 
and  intellectual  tmfoldment,  if  he  will  but  open  his  understand- 
ing to  the  meanings  of  her  many  voices.  She  pleads  with  him 
from  the  stars  to  look  upward  for  light  to  guide  him  through 
the  tangled  ways  of  life,  and  lead  him  to  his  eternal  home. 
She  woos  him  from  her  mountain  peaks  of  everlasting  snows  to 
pattern  his  character  after  their  spotless  whiteness.  She 
invites  him  in  the  fragrance  of  the  rose,  in  the  murmur  of 
the  brook,  and  in  the  song  of  the  birds,  to  make  his  own 
life  rich  with  the  aroma  of  good  deeds,  and  melodious 
with  the  beautiful  symphonies  of  loving  fellowship  with  all 
that  is  good  in  earth  and  heaven. 


Leave  the  dead  past  alone  .in  its  sepulchre.  Why  chain 
the  living  with  the  dead — why  tread  forever  its  dismal  vaults, 
feasting  the  soul  on  its  cruel  and  bitter  memories.  If  a  friend 

has  wronged  you,  forget   it ;  if  suffering  has   been  your  lot 

—if  misfortune  and  disappointment  have  shadowed  your  life 
—let  it  all  go.  Bury  your  ills,  and  resurrect  your  joys.  Gather 
the  lillies  and  roses  wherever  you  find  them,  and  tread  the 
nettles  and  thorns  beneath  your  feet.  Life  is  too  short  to 
burden  the  spirit  with  unpleasant  things. 


THERE  IS  NO  DEATH. 

The  lessons  of  our  translated  loved  ones  is  that  there  is 
no  death — that  what  seems  so  is  only  transition — the  birth  to 
a  new  life,  as  real,  aye,  far  more  real  than  this ;  for  here  we 
bear  the  changing  conditions  of  time — youth,  with  its  bright 
hopes  and  golden  dreams;  manhood,  with  its  fierce  contests  in 
the  battle  of  life,  its  struggles  with  the  busy  world ;  old  age,  if 
we  have  lived  rightly,  with  its  sheaves  of  ripened  grain,  its 
pleasant  memories,  and  its  calm  outlook  upon  the  future.  But 


44 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 


there,  in  that  new  life,  these  mortal  changes  and  conditions  do 
not  exist.  He  who  has  profited  by  his  earthly  experiences, 
goes  onward  in  the  path  of  eternal  progression,  amid  scenes 
and  surroundings  that  are  real  and  tangible  to  spirit  sense. 
Here  all  is  change.  There  is  no  permanency  in  matter.  The 
hills  wear  avvay  and  melt  into  the  sea  :  the  rocks  themselves 
crumble  to  ashes  at  the  touch  of  time ;  the  "  firm  set  earth"  is 
growing  old,  and  in  some  distant  aeon,  will  doubtless  become  a 
dead  world  to  be  buried,  perhaps,  in  the  bosom  of  the  sun. 
Spirit  is  the  eternal,  unchanging  substance,  while  matter  is  the 
evanescent  shadow  of  things,  upon  every  atom  of  which  is 
written  "change." 

It  is  a  beautiful  thing  to  grow  in  years  gracefully  and 
wisely — to  carry  down  into  the  sunset  of  life  the  gentle  graces 
and  sweetness  of  a  spirit  enriched  with  good  thoughts  and  noble 
impulses.  Age  is  not  measured  by  years  nor  whitened  locks, 
to  one  who  lives  rightly.  The  soul  never  grows  old.  It  may 
lose  its  elasticity  of  expression  through  its  worn  out  instru- 
ment ;  the  footsteps  may  become  faltering  and  the  voice  feeble 
with  time,  but  the  soul  is  there  just  the  same,  with  all  its 
garnered  earth  experiences,  all  its  lustre  untarnished.  It  has 
only  withdrawn  a  little  within  the  veil,  whence  sooner  or  later 
it  will  step  out  into  the  open  day  of  a  new  life. 

When  Death  comes  to  a  good  man  or  woman,  in  the  full- 
ness of  time,  it  comes  as  a  welcome  friend.  One  after  another 
their  hearts'  treasures  have  been  gathered  to  the  home  of  the 
spirit,  and  at  last  they  stand  alone,  like  ripened  grain  ready  for 
the  sickle.  The  struggle  of  active  life  is  over  ;  the  battle  has 
been  fought ;  the  world's  stern  work  has  passed  into  younger 
hands,  and  they  stand  alone  with  the  evening's  calm  around 
them,  and  with  ear  bent  for  the  sound  of  the  boatman's  oar 
that  shall  bear  them  over  the  silent  waters. 

In  proportion  as  the  mind  is  empty  of  knowledge  does  it 
engage  in  the  frivolities  and  little  things  of  life.  Show  us- 


GENEROUS    DEEDS. 


a  gossiping  scandal-monger,  and.  we  will  show  you  a  person 
with  many  rooms  to  let  in  the  upper  story.  Imagine  George 
Eliot,  Alice  Gary  and  R.  W.  Emerson  crooning  together  and 
back-biting  a  neighbor  across  the  street  ! 


GENEROUS  DEEDS. 


Like  the  fragrance  of  the  flower  exhales  the  aroma  of 
kind  thoughts  and  generous  deeds.  The  soul  shines  out  through 
the  face,  and  radiates  the  very  presence  of  a  good  man  or 
woman.  In  their  daily  walks  among  their  fellows  they  shed 
blessings  on  every  hand.  They  have  gentle  words  of  sympathy 
for  the  suffering,  kind  deeds  for  the  needy,  and  are  ever,  like 
their  great  Teacher,  the  beautiful  Christ,  offering  the  waters  of 
life  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish.  This  is  the  kind  of  hu- 
manity that  must  supplement  the  multitudes  of  selfish  and 
soulless  men  and  women,  now  existing  upon  the  earth  before 
the  figurative  New  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  God  and  his  angels, 
foreshadowed  in  the  Apocalypse,  can  come  down  out  of  heaven 
and  become  the  everlasting  abode  of  the  saints — of  the  "spir- 
its of  just  men  made  perfect."  Let  the  good  not  grow  weary. 
The  millennium  is  slowly  but  surely  coming.  Centuries  are 
but  moments  in  the  reckoning  of  eternity. 

INVOCATION. 


Infinite  spirit  of  Nature,  thou  that  pervadeth  the  universe 
of  matter,  quickening  into  life  and  being  all  forms  of  beauty 
— radiating  in  the  sunlight,  blossoming  in  the  flowers,  filling  the 
air  with  melody  in  the  song  of  birds  and  the  murmur  of  brooks  ; 
— thou  that  art  everywhere  and  all  things — in  the  pains  of 
motherhood,  in  helpless  infancy,  in  the  joy  and  gladness  of 
youth,  in  the  struggles  and  trials  of  manhood,  in  the  bowed  form 
and  feeble  step  of  old  age,  in  the  sinking  pulse  of  death; — 
thou  that  holdest  the  universe  in  thy  keeping,  and  in  the 


46  •  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

mighty  sweep  of  suns  and  constellations,  filleth  immensity  with 
glory — may  we  not  feel  that  we  are  a  part  of  thee,  and  realize  that 
thy  infinite  purpose  in  us  is  that  we  may  become  like  unto  thee  in 
all  symmetry  and  beauty  of  spirit,  in  all  nobility  of  character, 
in  all  grandeur  of  goodness.  May  thy  ministering  spirits  from  the 
shining  shores  of  immortal  life,  touch  all  hearts  with  a  tender 
sympathy  for  those  that  suffer,  and  kindle  anew  in  each  soul  a 
firmer  purpose  to  subdue  all  the  lesser  good  in  the  undeveloped 
nature,  and  to  rise  to  the  higher  planes  of  being,  where  all  is 
honor,  and  purity,  and  true  manliness  of  soul.  And  thus  we 
will  ever  pray. 


The  mole  burrowing  in  the  dark  earth,  the  thistle  down 
floating  on  the  summer  breeze,  the  rootlet  of  the  plant  groping 
for  moisture  and  nutrition, — all  are  moved  by  a  divine  energy, 
the  same  that  called  the  world  into  existence,  and  bespangled 
the  infinite  spaces  of  ether  with  star  gems. 


WHAT  WERE  YOU  MADE  FOR  ? 

Young  man,  would  you  make  your  life,  financially  or  other- 
wise, a  success  ?  Find  out  as  early  as  possible  in  your  career, 
what  vocation,  or  art,  or  line  of  life,  you  are  best  suited  for, 
and  then  pursue  the  object  persistently  and  zealously  to  the 
end.  Turn  neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  but  press  on  to 
the  goal  of  your  ambition,  and  you  will  surely  win.  It  is  the 
undecided,  irresolute  man,  one  who  is  "  everything  by  turns, 
and  nothing  long,"  that  fritters  away  his  young  manhood,  and 
his  maturer  years,  and  ere  he  is  aware  of  it  old  age  creeps  up 
on  him,  and  finds  him  with  nothing  done.  But  he  must  re- 
member that  in  pursuing  his  object,  whatever  it  may  be,  he 
should  consider  the  needs  of  his  spiritual  nature.  "  Man  can- 
not live  by  bread  alone."  He  needs  other  aliment  to  round 
out  his  character  and  make  him  the  complete  man  he  should 


EVER    AND    FOREVER.  47 

be.  This  spiritual  culture  should  interblend  with  his  business 
pursuits,  and  go  hand  in  hand  therewith.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  some  of  the  grandest  successes  in  life  were  of  men 
who  could  never  find  time  to  acquire  wealth. 


EVER  AND  FOREVER. 


The  old  orthodox  idea  of  eternal  punishment — of  never 
throughout  all  the  countless  ages  of  eternity,  giving  the  once 
mortal  sinner  a  chance  for  repentance  or  reform  ;  but  ever  and 
forever  holding  him  to  the  rack  of  unforgiving  agony  for  wrongs 
done — is  not,  surely,  the  true  spiritualistic  idea  of  making  the 
world  better.  And  yet  some  there  be  who  would  ransack  the 
earth  to  find  some  blemish  in  one's  character  and  conduct — 
no  matter  how  long  repented  of,  or  condoned  by  subsequent 
good  conduct — to  condemn  him,  in  the  eyes  of  an  uncharit- 
able world,  and  bring  him  to  mortal  disgrace  and  ruin.  In 
the  eternities  we  would  rather  be  such  a  wrong  doer  than  his 
unmerciful  judge. 

There  are  two  standards  of  judgment  among  men  con- 
cerning their  fellow  men — one  to  regard  every  man  a  rogue 
until  proved  honest ;  the  other,  to  look  upon  all  as  honest  un- 
til they  demonstrate  in  their  lives  and  conduct  that  they  are 
unworthy  of  confidence.  This  seems  to  be  the  better  way, 
and  we  would  apply  the  same  rule  of  judgment  to  mediums  for 
spirit  communion. 

A  bad  digestion  and  a  diseased  liver  have  turned  many  a 
very  fair  article  of  Christian  into  a  confirmed  cross-patch  and 
wretched  human  porcupine.  It  takes  a  fine  quality  of  spiritual 
grace  and  goodness  to  enable  one  thus  afflicted  to  turn  the 
better  side  of  his  nature  to  the  sunlight ;  thus,  when  your 
enemies  abuse  you  charge  it  to  their  deranged  internal  econo- 
my and  pass  on. 


48  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

SUSTAINING    GTCACE    OF     SPIRITUALISM. 


"But  for  the  sustaining  grace  of  Spiritualism,"  remarked 
a  stricken  brother  to  us  the  other  day — one  who  had  recently 
been  called  to  part  with  the  mortal  companionship  of  a  dearly 
loved  wife — "  I  should  at  once  follow  her  to  the  grave."  But 
now  he  knows  of  a  verity  that  it  is  her  wish  that  he  shall  stay 
till  his  work  is  finished  ;  he  knows  that  his  angel  is  ever  near 
him,  giving  him  the  assurance  and  sweet  satisfaction  of  her 
loving  sympathy,  and  that  she  will  be  there  to  greet  him  when 
he  shall  lay  aside  the  mortal.  And  so  he  will  walk  bravely  to 
the  end.  His  anchor  is  cast,  sure  and  steadfast,  within  the 
veil,  and  his  eternity  of  hope  and  unending  love  is  begun. 


He  who  seeks  for  the  highest  and  best  in  his  own  life  is 
sure  to  find  it.  He  will  certainly  develop  those  spiritual  fac- 
ulties in  his  nature  that  will  draw  him  nearer  to  the  divine  life. 
But  to  do  this,  he  must  rise  above  all  unkind  thoughts,  all 
domination  of  evil,  into  an  atmosphere  of  unselfishness  and 
harmony.  He  must  "enter  the  path  "  and  "live  the  life." 
Then  will  peace,  like  a  river,  flow  into  his  soul,  and  happiness 
and  rest — the  rest  of  persistent  endeavor  for  the  welfare  of 

others — be  his  forevermore. 

*  * 
-K- 

The  crowded  streets !  What  a  medley  of  humanity  ! 
Eager  faces,  glad  faces,  puzzled  faces ;  faces  sodden  with  dissi- 
pation and  distorted  with  crime  \  thoughtful,  frivolous,  wicked 
faces  ;  young  and  joyous  faces,  wrinkled  and  careworn  faces, 
loving  and  gentle  faces — :how  they  meet  and  mingle  and  flash 
by  me,  an  unceasing,  ever-changing  kaleidoscope  of  humanity 
— never  the  same  and  yet  always  the  same  !  Where  will 
all  these  faces  be  ere  long  ?  All  gazing  upward  with  sightless 
eyes.  A  generation  passes  away  and  a  new  one  takes  its  place, 
and  the  world  moves  onward  without  a  break. 


OPPOSITION.  49 

% 

OPPOSITION. 

After  all,  what  effect  has  opposition  upon  Spiritualism — 
what  the  ignorant  abuse  by  pulpit  and  press — but  to  advertise 
it  to  the  world,  and  make  for  it  new  friends  ?  Hasn't  such 
been  the  case  with  all  new  systems  of  religion  arid  philosophy, 
in  all  times,  the  world  over  ?  The  church  once  sought  to  pun- 
ish heresy  with  the  faggot  and  the  rack;  but  did  the  crop  of 
heretics  become  any  less  ?  Did  the  pagan  persecution  of  the 
early  Christians  have  any  other  effect  than  to  fire  the  hearts 
of  the  votaries  of  that  religion  with  additional  zeal  ?  So  is  it 
with  Spiritualism.  "  Let  the  heathen  rage  against  us  ; "  it  brings 
us  strength.  Woe  unto  our  cause  wrhen  it  is  no  longer  consid- 
ered worthy  of  abuse. 


Slain  again  and  again  in  the  house  of  its  friends,  defiled 
by  its  ministers,  waylaid,  and  beaten  down,  and  robbed  in  high 
places,  nevertheless  our  beautiful  Spiritualism  still  lives.  It 
comes  forth  bleeding  but  never  crushed  from  every  disaster,  to 
grapple  again  and  again  with  error,  and  win  men  to  a  belief  in 
the  glorious  truths  of  immortality  and  the  higher  life.  It  per- 
vades many  homes  where  love  dwells,  and  where  it  has  erected 
its  holy  altars,  before  which  the  inmates  gather  in  sweet  and 
reverent  devotion.  The  storm  of  fierce  opposition  but  gives  it 
new  strength,  treason  in  its  councils,  and  betrayal  of  its  sacred 
trusts,  but  add  to  the  potency  of  its  energizing  forces  to  sub- 
due the  hearts  and  understandings  of  men,  and  bring  the  two 
worlds  together  in  one  mighty  purpose  to  uplift  and  ennoble 
humanity. 

When  will  man  learn  that  all  bitterness,  rancor,  unkind- 
ness — that  all  manner  of  ungenerous  thought  and  feeling — 
are  but  clogs  and  bars  to  the  spirit's  advancement  and  growth. 
And  then  these  moods  of  minds  grow  upon  what  they  feed, 
until  all  the  springs  of  charity  and  gentleness,  that  ought  to 


50  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

gush  forth  in  every  human  nature,  are  dried  up,  and  the  fallow 
ground  of  the  heart  becomes  parched  and  arid  as  a  desert 
waste.  What  a  dark  and  wretched  karma  some  people  are 
creating  to  carry  with  them  to  the  other  life.  The  lesson  of 
love  and  good  will  should  be  learned  here,  and  not  wait  till  we  get 
"over  there." 


THE  ONE   BRIGHT   STAR. 

Spiritualism  is  the  one  bright  star  that  shines  down  into 
the  stricken  heart,  radiating  the  entire  being  with  the  light  of 
peace  and  hope.  It  spans  the  river  of  death  with  a  rainbow 
arch  of  glory,  along  which  tread  the  shining  feet  of  angels.  It 
broadens  our  outlook  upon  the  physical  plane  of  life  and  en- 
ables us  to  realize  that  it  "is  not  all  of  life  to  live,  nor  all  of 
death  to  die."  Before  this  new  light,  now  streaming  into  the 
hearts  and  homes  of  humanity,  the  hideous  phantoms  of  a 
false  theology,  founded  in  the  barbarism  of  the  race,  must  flee 
away.  "The  bottomless  pit,"  like  the  great  maelstrom  of  the 
Northern  Coast,  has  been  found  to  be  a  myth — the  "  impassi- 
ble gulf  "  a  hideous  fantasy  of  a  distorted  brain.  Spiritualism 
gives  us  a  Being  of  infinite  love  at  the  head  of  the  universe, 
and  not  a  monster  of  implacable  hate,  who  will  "laugh  at  our 
calamitv  and  mock  when  our  fear  cometh." 


The  nightmare  of  the  soul,  has  it  not  been,  through  all 
the  ages — the  theology  of  Christianity  ?  It  has  taught  the  sep- 
aration of  kindred  souls  for  all  eternity,  and  furrowed  out  of 
space  an  infinite  vortex  of  everlasting  woe  for  the  ignorant  and 
undeveloped.  It  demands  what  is  an  impossibility  to  many 
intelligent  minds,  under  pain  of  eternal  banishment  from  hap- 
piness, and  then  asks  us  to  render  to  such  a  Being  the  love 
and  worship  of  our  souls !  Not  such  the  God  whom  Spiritual- 
ists would  adore. 


MY    SOUL    AND    I.  51 

MY  SOITL  AND  I. 


Fragments  from  a  Sunday  Outing. 


I  have  wandered  forth,  this  beautiful  Sunday  morning 
(July  2ist,  1889),  from  the  quiet  country  home  of  my  friends,. 
Mrs.  S.  M.  Nunn  and  her  gifted  artist  daughter,  Miss  Ella 
(where  the  writer  and  niece  are  spending  a  few  restful  days)— 
have  strolled  forth,  my  soul  and  I,  to  hold  communion  with 
nature,  among  some  of  her  wildest  and  most  beautiful  forms. 
Here  are  dense  forests,  deep  and  dark  ravines,  mighty  masses 
of  rocks,  towering  redwoods,  and  rippling  streams.  Here, 
also,  are  sloping  hillsides,  and  wide  stretches  of  fertile  vales,  all 
combining  to  make  as  rare  and  lovely  a  picture  as  any  that 
can  be  found  elsewhere,  even  in  this  land  of  nature's  wonder- 
ful variety  and  beauty,  (California.)  What  a  home  for  an  ar- 
tist or  a  poet,  and  what  a  charming  place  for  a  brief  outing 
from  the  noisy  city  ! 


Among  the  hills,  the  grand  old  hills,  for  two  glad  days. 
The  air  is  pure  and  soft,  and  fragrant  with  the  odors  of  the  fir 
and  the  laurel,  and  the  breath  of  wild  ferns  aud  climbing  vines, 
while  the  purling  brook  at  my  feet  makes  laughing  melody 
among  the  rocks.  A  great  silence  broods  the  earth,  save  the 
sharp  hum  of  the  bee  on  its  errand  of  sweetness,  and  the  chirp 
to  the  brown  linnet  on  yonder  branch.  Have  no  fear,  little 
mother,  your  tiny  brood  is  safe.  I  am  here  to  sit  with  you  at 
the  feet  of  our  common  mother,  to  gather  strength  and  courage 
for  other  struggles.  So,  go  on  with  your  housework,  my  timid 
little  friend.  Your  being's  end  and  aim  is  complete  in  rearing 
your  young  brood.  But  you  have  a  little  time,  now  and  then, 
to  spare  for  a  song  of  joy  to  gladden  other  lives ;  and  so  we 
take  heart  of  you.  Nature  has  fulfilled  her  purpose  in  you, 
and  you  are  happy,  except  when  some  great  shadow  falls  across 
your  life,  as  now ;  and  I  am  that  shadow.  I'll  move  farther 
up  the  brook,  and  leave  you  at  your  task. 


52  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  cattle  grazing  on  yonder  hillside — they  are  not 
troubling  themselves  about  the  ownership  of  the  lands  upon 
which  they  feed  ;  nor  whether  they  are  mortgaged  or  not  ;  nor 
whether  one  of  their  number  is  richer  or  better  than  another. 
They  do  not  chafe  their  souls  in  prayer  for  better  pastures  by 
and  by  ;  nor  do  they  worry  over  their  sins  ;  nor  are  they  con- 
cerned about  their  respectability.  They  do  not  sell  rum  to 
other  cattle,  nor  do  they  organize  great  trusts  to  rob  their  fel- 
lows of  a  fair  share  of  food.  They  are  not  troubled  about  the 
ownership  of  houses,  or  lands,  or  bank  accounts,  to  leave  to 
their  heirs  ;  nor  do  they  ever  die  of  Bright's  disease  from  im- 
prudent habits.  Not  one  of  them  uses  tobacco  in  any  form, 
nor  slanders  his  neighbors,  nor  lays  awake  nights  planning  how 
he  can  get  the  best  of  a  bargain.  They  have  no  use  lor  law- 
yers, or  doctors,  or  preachers.  Happy  brutes! 


Will  she  not  come  to  you,  pretty  dove,  at  your  plaintive 
call?  Surely,  it  was  not  always  thus  ?  I  remember  with  what 
joy  your  heart  was  filled  in  the  golden  days  when  your  wedded 
life  began.  The  world  was  very  bright  and  fair  before  you 
then.  You  thought  you  would  never  weary  of  each  other's  at- 
tentions. You  floated  in  a  fairy  shallop  on  a  sea  of  golden  dreams. 
But  care  and  toil  and  anxiety  came,  and  left  their  furrows  in 
your  heart ;  and  then,  neglecting  the  growth  of  your  spirit,  you 
became  worldly-minded  and  sordid  ;  your  heart  grew  cold  and 
indifferent  towards  your  mate.  She  drooped  for  a  while,  and 
then  a  beautiful  light  shone  in  her  eyes  one  day,  and  she  un- 
furled her  wings  and  flew  away  to  the  sweet  Summerland.  And 
now,  sad  and  lonely  (for  you  loved  her  better  than  you  knew), 
you  sit  and  mourn  all  the  day  long  for  a  joy  that  is  dead.  Quit 
that  nonsense.  Be  a  happy  dove  again  in  striving  to  make 
amends  for  the  past  by  helping  to  assuage  the  griefs  of  other 
mourning  doves,  and  by  sharing  in  their  burdens,  ever  remem- 
bering that  she  waits  for  you  in  that  better  land.  Now,  get 


MY    SOUL    AND    I.  53 

thee   out  of  the  shadow  and  into  the  sunshine,  and   cease  that 
•sad  refrain. 

Ah,  little  bright  eyes  !  Who  are  you,  scudding  along  the 
dead  branch,  in  your  brown  dress,  and  peering  askance  at  this 
intruder?  Haven't  you  something  gayer  for  your  Sunday  at- 
tire, or  don't  you  care?  Are  you  not  aware  that  all  over  this 
great  earth  evangelical  Christianity  is  teaching,  from  tens  of 
thousands  of  pulpits,  that  a  peculiar  sanctity  attaches  to  this 
day,  because  the  Maker  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  after  six 
•days'  labor  at  world-building,  rested  on  the  seventh  ?  What 
right  have  you,  little  lizard,  to  be  breaking  the  Sabbath  in  this 
way?  Now,  don't  look  at  me  in  that  quizzing  kind  of  way,  as 
though  you  would  say,  What  do  you  know  about  it?  (Hon- 
estly, we  know  nothing,  but  then  we  preachers  think  we  do.) 
You  needn't  tell  me  that  God  never  rested,  that  the  work  of 
creation  is  going  steadily  forward  from  eternity  to  eternity,  and 
that  all  days  are  alike  holy?  Doesn't  the  Book  say  otherwise? 
Get  thee  hence  from  off  that  log,  and  leave  me  to  my  medi- 
tations. I  will  not  listen  to  thee. 


"  God  wants  a  little  fun  once  in  a  while,  dosen't  he  ?" 
queried  a  nice  little  boy  of  his  mother  the  first  time  he  ever 
•saw  a  dude.  So  it  would  seem,  for  some  of  his  creations  are 
purely  suggestive  of  the  ludicrous.  See  with  what  gorgeous 
apparel,  what  colors  rivaling  the  ocean's  blue  or  the  rainbow's 
marvelous  dyes,  he  bedecks  some  of  his  creatures.  Take  that 
rare  little  tid-bit  of  a  humming-bird,  flitting  among  the  flowers 
of  the  wild  rose  bush  just  upon  the  bank  above  me.  What  a 
little  flashing  gem  of  light  and  beauty  it  presents  to  the  eye  ! 
Ah,  what  is  this  but  one  of  God's  bits  of  pleasantry,  uttered  to 
amuse  me?  So  of  many  quaint  and  beautiful  shapes  of  bird 
and  flower.  In  fact,  all  nature  is  bubbling  over  with  mirth  for 
our  delight,  when  we  would  have  it  so. 


54  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  mountains  ?  How  they  appeal  to  us  to  come  up 
higher  !  How  proudly  they  lift  their  mighty  crests  to  the  heav- 
ens, as  though  they  were  the  monarchs  of  the  earth  and  sea  I 
Behold  them  from  afar  !  Seamed  and  gullied  though  their 
rugged  sides  may  be  with  the  attrition  of  ages  of  storm  and 
melting  snow,  there  upon  their  placid  brows  sits  enthroned  the 
majesty  of  eternal  repose.  Volcanoes  may  rage  within  their 
bosoms,  and  earthquakes  struggle  and  gasp  at  their  feet,  still 
they  stand  forever  as  mighty  finger-posts  pointing  the  way  up- 
ward to  the  All-Good.  O  mountains,  grand  and  glorious,  I 
love  you  !  Let  me  rest  in  your  arms  for  aye,  and  dream,  and 
dream.  

"There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods,"  sang  Byron,, 
and  so  there  is ;  but,  until  one  can  find  time  to  make  new  and 
better  paths,  it  were  wiser  that  one  keep  in  the  old  ones.  To- 
be  torn  and  wounded  by  briars,  to  lose  one's  way  among  the 
thick  furze,  and  all  to  accomplish  nothing,  is  not  well.  Some 
would-be  reformers  work  on  this  principle.  They  step  out  from 
the  old  paths,  and  slash  around  in  the  brush  of  new  ideas, 
without  any  other  purpose,  seemingly,  than  to  get  themselves 
into  a  great  sweat,  and  think  thereby  they  are  opening  up  a 
better  way  of  life  and  thought  for  those  who  are  to  follow 
them.  Until  one  can  say,  I  have  found  the  better  way,  he 
should  advise  no  one  to  follow  him.  It  is  true  that  we  must 
first  tear  down  before  we  can  build  anew,  still  we  should  re- 
member that  we  may  need  a  shelter  in  the  meantime.  An  old 
house  and  a  leakv  roof  are  better  than  none  at  all  in  a  storm. 


What  a  rollicking  good  time  we  have  had,  my  soul  and  I, 
out  here  in  these  vast  depths  of  shadow,  in  these  grand  old 
woods  !  How  we  have  romped  among  the  birds  and  brooks,, 
and  drank  our  fill  of  the  divine  nectar  that  dreams  are  made 
of.  And  now  the  night  steals  on  apace,  whose  early  morning 
sun  will  light  us  on  our  way  back  to  the  great  city  and  to  the- 
sober  realities  of  a  busy  life.  Good  night  ! 


WHERE    RESPONSIBILITY    LIES.  55 

WHERE  RESPONSIBILITY  LIES. 


Every  act  of  our  lives — every  thought  of  good  or  evil — leaves 
its  impress  upon  the  spirit,  moulding,  and  shaping  it  for  the  life 
of  the  spirit  within  other  and  finer  environments,  in  that  world 
"beyond  the  river."  Thus  it  is  that  we  make  ourselves  what 
we  really  are.  We  shall  be  grand  and  radiant  in  that  new  life 
— the  fit  companions  of  grand  souls, — or  we  shall  grovel  in  the 
slums  of  the  hells  we  have  created  for  ourselves,  just  as  we  will. 
But,  it  may  be  askeoV  Is  the  spirit  wholly  responsible  for  its 
mortal  expression  ?  We  would  answer,  Most  certainly  not, 
Neither  is  the  child  responsible  for  its  carelessness  in  falling 
into  the  fire,  but  it  must  suffer  the  pain  of  the  burn  all  the 
same.  We  are  not  responsible  for  inherited  tendencies  to  evil, 
nor  for  the  bias  of  early  erroneous  education,  but  we  suf- 
fer from  their  impress  upon  our  natures  just  the  same  as  though 
we  were. 


•OVJfiKTY  OF  RICHES. 


"  I  never  felt  so  rich  in  all  my  life  as  now,  and  never  had 
so  little  of  this  world's  wealth,"  said  a  grand,  good  woman  in 
our  presence  the  other  day.  It  was  the  true  riches  of  the  spirit 
that  she  possessed — riches  that  "  neither  moth  nor  rust  can  de- 
stroy, nor  thieves  break  in  and  steal."  She  is  a  woman  in  per- 
fect physical  health,  made  so  because  of  her  harmonious  life,  and 
one  who  holds  daily  and  almost  hourly  communion  with  the  spirit 
world.  The  spirit  of  a  beautiful  girl,  who  passed  to  the  other 
life  in  early  infancy,  now  just  developed  into  spiritual  woman- 
hood, came  into  her  life  a  few  years  ago,  and  now  is  her  con- 
stant companion  and  friend,  and  the  gentle  guardian  of  her  home. 
This  spirit  entrances  her,  and  speaks  through  her  lips,  and  is  to 
her  all  that  a  loving  daughter  could  be  in  spirit.  Into  the 
heart  of  this  woman  has  been  instilled  the  beautiful  lessons  of 
love,  charity  and  true  happiness.  She  has  learned  that  there 


56  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

are  riches  of  the  soul,  priceless  jewels  of  wealth,  with  which 
naught  of  earth  can  compare.  And  these  are  the  treasures 
that  are  filling  her  life  with  joy. 


He  who  is  ever  thinking  evil  of  others  must  have  that  in 
his  own  nature  to  call  forth  like  thoughts  in  the  minds  of  his 
fellows.  The  mind  is  apt  to  dwell  upon  that  of  which  it  pos- 
sesses most.  There  is  an  old  adage  that  "it  takes  a  thief  to 
catch  a  thief/'  We  would  that  there  were  no  thieves  to  catch, 
and  none  to  catch  them ! 


MOKE!    MOKE! 

''More!  More  !  That  was  the  sad  refrain  of  poor  Oliver 
in  Dickens'  touching  story.  It  is  the  cry  of  the  great  world  of 
humanity  in  its  struggle  for  the  things  of  earth.  More  land, 
more  houses,  more  income  !  Never  contented  or  satisfied  ;  al- 
ways, as  long  as  life  lasts,  seeking  for  more.!  It  is  a  preverted 
spirituality  that  prompts  this  unreasonable  longing  for  temporal 
possessions.  If  men  would  put  forth  the  same  energy  in  the 
acquisition  of  the  treasures  of  the  spirit  that  they  do  to  pile 
up  worldly  wealth,  how  grandly  they  would  mount  to  the  up- 
per heights  of  being — become  gods,  as  it  were,  both  in  this 
world  and  the  next.  Thus  they  would  build  for  eternity, 
whereas  now  they  mostly  build  for  time. 


HOW  TO  MAKE   SPIRITUALISM  RESPECTABLE. 


If  we  would  make  Spiritualism  respectable  we  must  first 
learn  to  respect  it  ourselves.  The  world  is  full  of  erring  and 
sinful  ones.  Some  there  are  in  our  ranks,  of  the  "holier-than- 
thou  "  kind,  who  delight  in  hunting  out  the  erring  and  follow- 
ing them  through  life  like  sleuth  hounds  of  perdition.  Puffed 
up  in  their  own  conceit  and  oblivious  of  the  beam  in  their  own 


EARTH  BOUND.  57 

eyes,  they  are  ever  on  the  hunt  for  the  motes  in  their  neighbor^ 
eyes.  And  the  fuss  they  make,  and  the  dust  they  stir  up  would 
naturally  lead  the  outside  world  to  believe  that  Spiritualist  are 
a  very  unsavory  class  of  people ;  when  the  fact  is  they  are  no 
worse  than  their  defamers.  What  are  a  few  dishonest  or  im- 
moral mediums  and  preachers,  to  the  millions  of  believers  in 
Spiritualism?  Haven't  all  religions  had  their  Judases?  Why 
should  we  expect  Spiritualism  to  be  an  exception  to  the  rule  ? 
When  we  find  a  black  sheep  in  the  fold,  is  it  highly  important 
that  we  should  parade  it  up  and  down  the  world,  and  keep  at 
it,  and  after  it,  until  by  very  force  of  habit  and  association  we 
become  black  sheep  ourselves  ?  Let  us  quit  our  groveling  in 
the  slums  of  pernicious  thoughts ;  let  us  learn  to  be  amiable, 
at  least,  if  we  cannot  always  be  just. 


EARTHBOUNI). 


One  of  the  startling  lessons  we  learn  from  spirit  commun- 
ication is  the  suggestive  one  that  countless  multitudes  of  spirits 
on  the  other  side  of  life  are  what  is  called  "  earthbound.'' 
That  is,  they  are  chained  by  an  immutable  law  of  their  being 
•  to  the  conditions  of  life  that  environed  them  here.  The  dura- 
tion of  this  condition  depends  upon  the  state  of  spiritual  un- 
foldment  of  the  individual,  and  of  the  spirit's  aptness  to  learn 
the  law  of  progression,  and  tear  itself  away  from  its  pernicious 
habits.  A  man,  for  instance,  who  has  been  a  rumseller,  under 
protest,  as  it  were — following  the  business  for  a  livelihood, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  despised  it — will  rise  much  more 
rapidly  than  one  who  followed  it  for  the  mere  love  of  the  vile 
traffic.  The  latter,  together  with  the  spirits  of  misers,  or  those 
who  accumulated  wealth  on  earth  by  dishonest  practices,  or  by 
oppressing  the  poor,  find  themselves  earthbound  when  they 
enter  spirit  life.  They  live  and  grovel  in  spiritual  darkness 
near  their  old  haunts,  often  for  ages,  or  until  they  are  ready 


58  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

for  advancement ;  and   then  some  gentle,   guiding  hand  will 
come  to  them  to  assist  them  into  the  light. 


FREE  THOUGHT. 

"Free  thought!"  Is  such  a  condition  of  thought  possi- 
ble ?  Freedom  to  think  is  itself  a  condition  of  the  brain,  or  of 
environment.  Because  we  think  differently  from,  or  in  oppo- 
sition to,  other  people  is  no  indication  that  we  are  free  to  think. 
The  free-thinker,  so-called,  is  one  who  denies  the  possibility  of 
the  existence  of  any  form  of  life  independent  of  a  physical 
body,  or  that  is  not  tangible  to  the  physical  senses.  In  other 
words,  his  thoughts  are  the  veriest  slaves  of  matter.  He  can 
not  think  beyond  matter.  He  is  chained  to  the  atoms  of  mat- 
ter that  compose  his  material  form,  and  there  he  must  remain 
until  enfranchised  by  the  uplifting  of  his  own  spirit,  or  the  dis- 
integration of  death.  To  designate  thought  thus  enslaved  as 
free  thought  is  a  misnomer.  Freedom  belongs  to  the  spirit, 
and  is  something  altogether  superior  to  matter.  To  deny  or 
make  light  of  the  "  things  of  the  spirit"  is  no  more  indicative 
of  freedom  to  think  than  was  the  jeering  of  the  slaves  of  super- 
stition that  bound  Bruno  to  the  stake,  or  shouted,  "  Crucify 
him  ! "  to  the  ignorant  rabble  that  nailed  Jesus  to  the  cross. 


CLINGING  TO  LIFE. 

It  is  hard  to  let  go  and  give  up,  for  one  who  has  been 
wholly  wrapped  up  in  the  things  of  time  and  sense.  This 
world  is  his  all.  His  elegant  home,  his  lands,  his  accumula- 
tions of  wealth — how  can  he  give  them  over  to  other  hands 
who  never  toiled  to  win  them  ?  Then  life  has  been  so  sweet 
to  him ;  he  has  had  such  a  good  time  ;  and  now  he  finds  him- 
self slowly  drifting  away.  Old  age,  that  once  seemed  so  far 
away,  is  at  last  upon  him.  His  energies  are  waning,  and  he 


HUMILI 


realizes  that  he  has  nothing  more  to  live  for.  But  still  he 
•clings  to  life  and  to  his  possessions  with  a  tenacity  born  of  des- 
pair. If  he  could  only  turn  his  eyes  from  the  past,  away  from 
the  perishing  baubles  of  time,  and  look  forward  to  the  life 
upon  which  he  is  about  to  enter  ;  if  he  could  only  realize  that 
the  spirit  can  soar  best  that  is  least  encumbered,  and  that  only 
his  good  qualities  will  be  of  any  use  to  him  over  there,  we 
think  he  would  not  be  long  in  cutting  himself  loose  from  all 
hat  chains  him  to  earth. 


HUMILITY. 


One  of  the  essential  conditions  to  spiritual  growth  is 
humility.  "  Unless  ye  become  as  little  children,"  etc.  And 
why  not  ?  What  is  man  that  he  should  be  puffed  up  with 
vanity  or  pride?  Did  he  come  into  the  world  inheriting  a  fort- 
une accumulated  by  his  ancestors  ?  A  few  years  hence  he 
will  go  out  of  it  owning  positively  nothing — not  even  his  coffin. 
Was  he  born  to  honor  or  fame  ?  A  little  while  hence  and  not 
even  the  worms  will  respect  his  titles,  even  though  he  were  a 
king.  Is  he  the  child  of  genius,  swaying  multitudes  by  the 
eloquence  of  his  tongue  or  pen?  Soon  his  right  hand  will 
lose  its  cunning,  his  voice  be  heard  no  more,  and  his  ears  will 
be  deaf  to  the  once  welcome  plaudits.  And  so,  in  all  these 
things,  wherein  has  man  any  "pre-eminence  over  the  beast"? 
Should  not  this  fact  make  him  humble  and  modest  in  all  his 
relations  with  the  world  ?  Here  we  are  all  learners  in  the  prim, 
ary  school  of  life,  and  we  know  so  very  little  of  anything  that 
we  can  hardly  afford  to  consider  ourselves  great  in  any  sense. 


Only  as  woman  is  exalted,  honored  and  enlightened  can 

we  expect  that  the  world  can  become  better.  As  the  mothers 

of  the  race,  women  are  necessarily  its  saviors.  The  man  who 

would  speak  slightingly   of  woman,   or   who  would   drag  her 


60  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

down  into  the  mire  of  his  own  lusts  or  evil  thoughts,  is  a 
shame  and  disgrace  to  the  mother  who  bore  him.  He  should 
blush  for  his  iniquities,  and  seek  by  the  refining  fire  of  disci- 
pline to  purge  himself  thereof.  Only  the  pure  in  heart  are 
fitted  for  the  companionship  of  good  women. 


MISFORTUNE. 

Think  you,  tired  heart,  that  there  is  no  place  in  the  world 
for  you — no  honest  work,  no  way  to  earn  even  a  humble  live- 
lihood? You  have  tried,  and  tried,  but  nowhere  do  you  find 
the  door  of  opportunity  open  to  you.  You  know  you  are 
deeply  in  earnest ;  you  know,  also,  that  you  have  ability  and 
could  fill  many  a  niche  in  life  far  more  capably  than  some  who 
are  less  worthy,  and  far  less  qualified.  And  yet  you  have 
to  wait  and  wait,  till  your  soul  tires  trying,  and  the  clouds 
of  misfortune  seem  to  gather  dark  and  thick  over  your  spirit. 
Ah!  do  you  know  what  misfortune  is? — You,  fair  of  form  and 
features,  with  sound  limbs  and  two  good  eyes  and  ears  ? — You, 
clad  in  comfort,  and  with  a  roof  to  shelter  you  ? — You,  with  the 
flush  of  health  on  your  cheeks  and  the  elasticity  of  a  grand 
womanhood  in  your  footsteps?  In  yonder  hut  lies  a  poor 
mother,  with  features  pinched  and  pale,  dying  of  consumption. 
The  father  of  her  helpless  children — one  a  little  crippled  boy 
— is  a  victim  of  the  accursed  demon  strong  drink,  and  his 
humble  earnings  go  to  enrich  the  rum-seller.  Come  with  mer 
let  us  together  enter  within.  No  carpet  on  the  floor,  and  only 
a  few  articles  of  dilapidated  furniture — nothing  but  squalor  and 
rags ;  and  that  poor,  forsaken  mother's  life  slowly  fading  away. 
O,  it  is  a  long,  sad  story — a  story  of  woe  and  wretchedness  in 
comparison  with  which  yours  is  a  dream  of  Paradise.  Give 
her  your  rich  sympathy  and  love,  and  you  will  forget  yourself, 
— forget  that  you  are  poor,  and  that  your  lot  is  a  hard  one.  It 
is  thus,  dear  friends,  that  we  mount  as  on  eagle's  wings,  to  the 
upper  sky. 


A    WELL    ROUNDED    LIFE.  6 1 

A  WELL,-ROUNI>EI>  LIFE. 

A  well-rounded,  harmonious  life — a  life  devoted  to  kind 
thoughts  and  good  deeds,  no  matter  in  how  humble  a  way — 
should  be  the  highest  aim  of  human  existence.  Such  a  life 
fills  the  measure  of  earthly  experience  necessary  to  prepare  the 
spirit  for  a  continuance  of  life  on  another  plane  of  existence, 
upon  which  all  must  enter  sooner  or  later.  Here  is  something 
to  strive  for.  How  to  make  the  most  of  this  life,  is  a  question 
that  concerns  all.  But  one  must  bear  in  mind  that  no  life  is  com- 
plete that  is  not  a  foretaste  of  the  higher  life  to  come.  Reader, 
take  an  account  of  stock  with  your  own  soul,  and  determine,  if 
you  can,  if  called  hence  to-day,  just  what,  and  how  much,  you 
could  take  with  you.  It  would  certainly  require  but  little  figur- 
ing to  show  you  what  you  must  leave  behind. 

"How  can  I  best  and  most  completely  adjust  myself  to 
the  universe?"  should  be  the  question  that  every  intelligent 
mortal  should  ask  of  the  divinity  within  his  own  soul.  He 
needs  to  know  what  he  is  here  for — what  is  meant  in  his  crea- 
tion. His  mortal  life,  he  must  realize,  is  but  a  point  of  time 
in  which  to  prepare  for  an  eternity  of  existence ;  and  he  must 
knowr  that  to  secure  the  largest  measure  of  happiness  here  or 
hereafter,  he  can  not  well  afford  to  let  the  present  opportunity 
for  doing  good  to  others  pass  by  unimproved. 

*  * 

The  old  idea  of  death,  with  its  horrible  uncertainty  of 
happiness  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  and  its  remote  prospect 
of  a  physical  resurrection,  is  no  longer  generally  believed  in  by 
the  Christian  world.  The  fearful  picture  of  a  burning  lake  of 
actual  fire  as  the  abode  of  lost  souls,  is  no  longer  presented 
from  any  intelligent  pulpit  in  the  land.  To  Spiritualism  is 
largely  due  this  transformation  of  public  sentiment  on  this 
question,  at  the  same  time  it  holds  man  to  a  strict  accountabil- 
ity for  all  his  acts.  There  are  worse  hells  than  lakes  of  fire. 


62  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

AN   AWFUL,    MYSTERY. 


Sleep — sweet,  refreshing  sleep  !  How  like  a  gentle  balm 
it  distills  through  the  tired  nerves,  and  fills  the  senses  with  a 
soft,  dreamy  feeling  of  rest.  The  toils  and  cares  of  the  day 
are  over,  and  Night  broods  the  earth  with  his  sable  wing.  All 
nature  invites  the  weary  body  to  repose.  It  is  then  comes  the 
awful  mystery  of  sleep.  The  spirit,  ever  bouyant  with  eternal 
energy,  sails  away  on  the  ocean  of  dreams,  to  some  fair  haven, 
it  may  be,  in  Soul  land,  there  to  meet  and  mingle  with  kindred 
spirits,  whose  bodies,  like  its  own,  are  at  rest,  some,  perhaps, 
forever.  How  very  like  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking — the 
last  sleep.  Each  day  we  die,  and  each  morn  we  come  forth  to 
a  new  life — just  as  we  shall  come  forth  from  the  sleep  of  death, 
to  live  forever  on  another  plane  of  being. 


THE  FIKST  AWAKING. 

Imagine  yourself,  dear  reader,  just  waking  to  a  conscious 
existence  in  spirit  life.  It  may  be  that  the  funeral  is  over  and 
the  old  body  consigned  to  its  mother  earth  ;  or,  perhaps,  you 
have  come  to  consciousness  in  time  to  attend  your  own  funeral, 
if  you  so  desire,  as  you  might.  You  find  yourself  clothed  upon 
with  a  new  body,  not  unlike  the  one  you  have  cast  off,  but  more 
perfect !  This  is  the  spirit  body  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul,  and  it 
is  made  up  of  rarified  matter,  tangible  and  real  to  spirit  sense. 
O,  wondrous  change  !  You  are  alive  and  well.  What  must 
be  your  thoughts  on  awakening  to  that  new  life  ?  How  they 
must  flash  back  over  your  earth  life — over  your  business  affairs, 
which,  perhaps,  you  have  left  all  unsettled — over  the  loved 
ones  who  are  overwhelmed  with  grief  at  your  departure — over 
every  act  of  wrong  you  have  ever  committed ; — and  then,  as 
you  begin  to  take  in  the  situation  more  clearly,  and 
realize  that  now  and  henceforth  you  must  take  your  place 
where  you  belong,  irrespective  of  earthly  wealth  or  fame,  how 


TWIN    GRACES.  63 

glad  you  will  be  if  you  can  feel  in  your  inmost  soul  that  all  is 
well  with  you.  If  you  do  your  best  here  it  will  be  all  right  with 
you  there. 


TWIN  GRACES. 


A  clear  head  and  a  sound  heart  is  the  best  capital  possible 
to  go  through  life  with.  But  the  two  must  go  together  to  pro- 
duce the  best  results.  A  clear  head  alone  will  make  one  cold 
and  calculating.  It  will  succeed  in  accumulating  wealth,  utterly 
thoughtless  of  those  who  fail ;  in  fact,  it  will  thrive  on  the  fail- 
ures of  other,  and  sleep  soundly  at  the  same  time.  But 
couple  the  two  together,  then,  with  proper  spiritual  unfoldment, 
Nature  and  Grace  will  present  to  the  world  a  type  of  manhood 
akin  to  angelhood.  It  is  this  happy  combination  of  elements 
in  his  own  life  that  each  individual  should  aspire  for.  And  he 
need  not  imagine  that  he  cannot  become  such  if  he  only  will. 
It  may  be  harder  work  for  some  than  for  others  ;  but  the  harder 
the  struggle  the  greater  the  glo-ry  of  victory. 


KINDNESS. 


Kind  treatment  will  win  in  subduing  an  obdurate  nature, 
where  harsh  measures  fail.  Instance  the  case  of  the  prison 
convict  at  Folsom,  in  California,  who  was  believed  to  be  entirely 
incorrigible.  For  three  years  he  had  been  shut  up  in  solitary 
confinement,  and  for  some  months  prior  to  a  change  of  warden, 
his  hands  and  feet  had  been  shackled  with  heavy  weights.  The 
new  warden  found  him  thus,  and  resolved  to  try  an  opposite 
course  of  treatment  with  him.  He  first  removed  the  shackles 
from  his  hands,  and,  two  week's  later,  the  heavy  irons  from  his 
feet,  all  of  which  was  accompanied  with  good  advice.  The 
man  was  a  stone  mason,  and  a  skillful  workmen.  He  was  soon 
put  to  work,  working  faithfully,  and  gave  the  very  best  of 
satisfaction.  He  continued  thus  for  over  a  yearj  when  he  was 


64  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

accidently  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  derrick.  From  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  worst  convict  in  the  prison  he  became  one 
of  the  very  best,  and  all  because  of  a  little  kindness  wisely 
exercised  in  his  behalf.  This  man  would  have  gone  to  his 
death  loaded  with  irons,  under  the  treatment  to  which  he  was 
at  first  subjected. 

PLAINT  OF  THE  UNWISE. 


It  is  very  hard  to  breakthrough  the  crust  of  a  selfish  man, 
— one  that  has  given  his  life  to  the  acquisition  of  wealth, — and 
by  any  earnestness  of  pleading,  or  honesty  of  logic,  induce 
him  to  disintangle  his  spirit  from  the  encumbrance  of  his 
possessions,  the  better  to  prepare  him  for  a  state  of  existence 
wherein  worldly  gain  constitutes  no  element  of  happiness.  He 
will  hold  on  to  his  wealth,  even  though  it  be  far  in  excess  of 
any  possible  earthly  needs,  to  the  bitter  end,  and  finally  pass 
on  to  the  other  life,  there  to  suffer,  perhaps  for  ages,  pangs  of 
regret  over  opportunities  for  usefulness  lost  forever.  Such 
spirits,  returning  to  earth,  come  with  the  one  sad  plaint,  "Oh, 
would  that  I  had  done  what  I  could  for  humanity's  sake!" 


HOME. 

The  home  is  the  bulwark  of  society.  Given,  a  nation  of 
homes,  and  the  result  is  a  nation  of  patriots.  The  promiscuous, 
feverish,  unsettled  life  of  great  cities,  is  destructive  of  all  the 
finer  sentiments  that  cluster  around  the  true  home.  The 
French  language  has  no  word  equivalent  to  that  of  "home,"  for 
the  reason,  probably,  that  there  are  no  homes  in  Paris,  and 
Paris  is  France.  In  our  great  cities  there  are  numerous  places 
where  people  sleep  and  eat,  but  few  homes.  The  lodging,  ten- 
ement, or  boarding  house — these  are  not  homes.  It  is  only  in 
the  country,  or  removed  from  the  whirl  and  din  of  the  city, 
that  we  find  the  true  home — a  pretty  cottage,  embowered  in 


WHY    WAIT    FOR     HAPPINESS?  65 

flowers  and  vines,  musical  with  the  laughter  of  happy  children, 
and  radiant  with  bright,  sunny  faces.  There  is  no  rumbling  of 
wheels  over  the  stoney  street ;  no  careworn,  stolid  faces  to  meet 
you  at  every  turn ;  no  fierce,  unholy  eyes  to  gaze  into  yours, — 
but  only  the  sweet  peace  and  contentment  that  comes  of 
harmonious  living.  Why  will  people  throng  into  the  great 
cities  when  the  country  offers  such  rare  charms. 


WHY  WAIT   FOR  HAI'PINKSS  ? 


Why  wait  for  happiness  in  some  future  and  far  off  heaven? 
Why  not  have  it  now  and  here  ?  Heaven  is  not  a  thing  of 
time  or  place,  but  a  condition  of  spirit  into  which  all 
must  come  before  they  can  find  true  happiness.  There 
is  just  as  much  heaven  in  this  world  as  the  spirit  is  capable  of 
enjoying,  or  as  can  be  found  in  the  next.  Wealth  can  not 
purchase  heaven, — nor  kingly  power  create  it.  It  is  more  often 
found  in  the  poor  man's  cottage,  than  in  the  palace  of  the  rich. 
A  gentle  nature,  a  loving  heart,  a  contented  mind — these  are 
heaven,  and  all  there  is  of  heaven  in  God's  vast  universe.  No 
one  need  wait  for  death  to  enable  him  to  enter  upon  the  enjoy- 
ment of  this  eternal  heritage  of  peace  and  rest. 


We  are  living  in  an  age  of  the  rankest  kind  of  material- 
ism, and  nowhere  is  its  spirit  manifested  more  completely  than 
among  Spiritualists.  True,  they  claim  to  believe  in  a  future 
state  of  existence,  and  yet  they  live  as  though  this  life  was  the 
all  in  all  of  being.  They  gather  in  the  perishable  treasures  of 
earth,  often  entirely  neglectful  of  the  everlasting  riches  of  the 
spirit,  which  alone  will  be  of  any  worth  to  them  a  little  while 
hence.  They  pass  on,  one  after  another,  and  do  little  or  noth- 
ing for  humanity,  and  then  they  return  to  us  with  the  set  plaint, 
"O,  that  I  made  better  use  of  my  opportunities  !  O,  that  I 
had  my  life  to  live  over  again  1" 


66  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  like  abuse  of  the  individual, 
is  the  strongest  possible  promoter  of  the  cause  that  it  is  sought 
to  crush.  There  is  a  just  principle  in  human  nature  that  rebels 
at  abuse  or  persecution  of  a  fellow  mortal.  Let  a  man  or 
woman  be  roundly  berated,  and  in  all  true  natures  this  princi- 
ple at  once  asserts  itself,  and  rallies  to  the  defence  of  the 
wrongfully  accused.  Persecution  first  gave  Christianity  to  the 
world,  and  when  it  became  strong,  tyrannical  and  corrupt,  its 
martyr-fires  made  Protestantism  first  possible,  and  then  a  migh- 
ty success.  No  Spiritualist  need  fear  for  his  Cause  because  of 
the  abuse  of  the  ignorant. 


SOKROWFUL  SATISFACTION 


The  aches  and  pains,  griefs  and  disappointments  of  some 
people  constitute  their  standard  themes  of  thought  and  conver- 
sation. They  seem  to  derive  a  sort  of  sorrowful  satisfaction  in 
being  able  to  oversize  the  pretentions  of  their  neighbors  in  the 
matter  of  grievances  and  misfortunes.  To  them  a  first-class  ar- 
ticle of  rheumatism,  and  a  No.  i  brand  of  cholera  morbus,  are 
sources  of  delight  which  will  answer  for  many  years  of  neighborly 
chat;  and  they  tell  their  ailments  and  infirmities  over  "each  in 
its  accustomed  place,  from  morn  till  night,  from  youth  till 
hoary  age."  And  thus  their  weaknesses  and  imperfections  are 
made  to  grow  upon  what  they  feed,  until  their  mortal  bodies  be- 
come animated  bundles  of  disease,  and  finally  and  prematurely 
"food  for  worms." 


How  the  harassing  cares  of  this  life — the  worry,  the  strife, 
the  worldly  ambitions — encompass  the  spirit  as  with  an  armor 
of  steel,  and  make  it  almost  impregnable  to  the  humanities  and 
charities — the  tender  thought  of  the  welfare  of  others — so  es- 
sential to  the  unfoldment  of  the  spirit,  and  to  fit  it  for  the  higher 
enjoyment  of  that  realm  of  existence  upon  which  we  must  all 
soon  enter. 


SCIENTIFIC    METHODS.  67 

SCIENTIFIC  METHODS. 

How  glibly  we  talk  about  scientific  methods  of  psychical  re- 
search, as  though  it  was  one  thing  to  be  scientific  and  another 
to  be  careful  and  truthful.  What  is  science  but  a  few  collated 
facts  in  certain  departments  of  nature  ?  Wherein  does  the  as- 
tronomer, or  the  geologist,  or  the  naturalist,  possess  any  peculiar 
qualifications  for  the  investigation  of  psychic  phenomena  ?  He 
can  apply  none  of  his  methods  here.  Here  is  a  new  realm  of 
natural  facts  that  can  only  be  explored  in  ways  peculiarly  its  own. 
The  one  who  enters  this  realm  with  mind  divested  of  the  pre- 
judices that  a  scientific  knowledge  in  other  departments  of  na- 
ture is  apt  to  engender,  is  the  better  qualified,  in  our  judgment, 
to  discover  the  facts  that  abound  therein.  It  is  no  discredit  to 
Spiritualism  that  its  facts  are  rejected  by  Dr.  Carpenter  and  the 
Seybert  Commission.  The  judgment  of  Professors  Crooks, 
Wallace  and  Zollner,  is  quite  as  conclusive  to  the  contrary;  while 
there  are  thousands  of  plain,  practical  people,  who  are  not  scien- 
tists in  the  general  acceptance  of  the  term,  whose  judgment  in 
these  matters  is  quite  as  good  as  if  they  were. 


HEALTH    AND    HARMONY. 

If  you  would  have  health  of  body  you  must  first  have  har- 
mony of  spirit  and  peace  of  mind.  When  all  of  the  bearings  are 
properly  oiled,  the  machinery  of  the  mill  runs  smoothly  and 
without  friction;  but  once  admit  an  element  of  inharmony,  and 
the  friction  of  discord  is  felt  through  all  its  parts.  As  a  par- 
ticle of  dust  will  stop  the  movement  of  a  watch,  so,  with  a  finely 
organized,  sensitive  nature,  will  the  indulgence  of  a  single,  un- 
kind or  unworthy  thought  often  produce  great  disturbance  in 
the  physical  system.  We  do  not  say  that  all  sicknesses  the  re- 
sult of  inharmonious  conditions  of  mind,  but  that  much  of  it  is- 
beyond  question.  Some  people  think  they  are  harmonious 
when  they  are  greatly  otherwise.  True  harmony  is  that  condi- 


68  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

tion  of  the  spirit  which  is  at  one  with  the  All-Good — that  thinks 
no  ill,  that  rises  superior  to  all  the  petty  annoyances  of  life,  and 
reposes  sweetly  and  serenely  on  the  bosom  of  Infinite  Love. 
Below  this  there  is  more  or  less  discord  to  work  havoc  with  the 
delicate  machinery  of  the  body — just  how  and  to  what  extent 
we  may  not  fully  know. 


A  HOPELESS  PLACE. 


To  the  materialist  what  a  dreary,  hopeless  place  is  the 
grave  !  With  no  knowledge  or  thought  of  life  beyond,  he  con- 
signs the  remains  of  some  idol  of  his  soul  to  the  cold  earth. 
To  him  the  life  that  faded  away  in  his  arms  marked  the  end  of 
being  for  that  loved  one,  absolutely  and  forever.  There  is 
nothing  left  for  him  now  but  memory,  and  the  consciousness  of 
a  dead  joy.  He  shuts  his  ears  to  the  voice  that  would  gladly 
speak  to  him  out  of  the  silence,  and  give  him  the  assurance 
that  his  idol  still  lived.  He  will  not  have  it  so,  for  has  he  not 
reasoned  himself  into  the  conviction  that  there  can  be  no  such 
thing  as  spirit  separate  from  the  mortal  body  ?  And  so  he  turns 
homeward  from  the  place  of  the  dead,  with  the  light  gone  out 
of  his  life  forevermore.  All  the  logic  and  reason  of  all  the 
schools  of  materialistic  thought  cannot  possess  a  feather's  weight 
in  the  scale  against  the  demonstrated  fact  of  one  little  spirit  rap, 
nor  all  the  agnosticism  of  the  universe  against  a  single  grain  of 
positive  knowledge. 


,  When  we  look  out  even  upon  the  very  little  of  the  universe 
that  the  mind  can  grasp  or  comprehend,  and  consider,  if  we 
can,  that  we  are  but  mites,  held  by  the  mysterious  law  of  gravi- 
tation to  the  surface  of  one  of  the  most  inferior  of  the  countless 
millions  of  worlds  that  roll  through  the  mighty  vastness  of  the 
skies,  how  insignificant  seem  all  human  pomp  and  greatness. 
In  humility  *  of  soul  we  may  well  exclaim,  "  What  is  man  that 
Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ! 


KUIMHXd    BETTER    THAN    SHK    KNKW.  69 

i   BETTER  THAN  SHE  KNKW. 


We  know  a  lovely  soul,  aglow  with  the  highest  and  holiest 
thoughts  of  human  life  and  duty — a  mother  of  a  noble  son, 
whose  nature  is  unfolding  beautifully  under  her  loving  care, — 
who  thinks  only  good  continually,  and  carries  her  thoughts  into 
all  her  acts,  which  are  ever  for  the  uplifting  of  the  lowly  and  the 
advancement  of  truth;  and  yet  this  grand  soul  is  distrustful  of 
her  own  merits,  and  of  her  power  and  influence  for  use  in  the 
world.  It  is  well  to  be  modest  and  unpretentious;  it  indicates 
.a  well-disciplined  spirit.  But,  if  this  good  woman  could  see  her 
•self  as  the  bright  ones  of  the  other  life  see  her,  she  would  lift  up 
her  soul  and  rejoice  that  she  is  able  to  be  the  instrument  for 
good  that  she  is.  Take  cournge,  sister;  you  are  building  better 
than  you  know. 


How  easy  it  is  to  be  obliging  and  civil,  and  gentle — to 
speak  pleasantly,  and  considerately  of  the  presence  and  opin- 
ions of  others— in  short  to  be  a  lady  or  a  gentleman,  in  all  the 
walks  of  life.  Human  nature,  undisciplined  of  the  spirit,  is 
not  far  removed  from  the  beast.  Its  tastes,  appetites  and 
habits  are  all  of  the  animal,  and  full  of  the  suggestiveness  of 
the  flesh.  It  is  only  through  the  domination  of  the  spiritual 
nature  of  man  that  he  rises  in  the  scale  of  being  above  his 
brother  animals.  And  the  first  step  to  a  better  order  of  life 
lies  in  the  direction  of  those  little  amenities  that  make  one 
thoughtful  of  the  feelings  and  happiness  of  others. 

*  # 

•K- 

Many  a  noble  soul  finds  expression  through  an  unattractive 
body,  just  as  the  sweetest  kernels  are  often  encased  in  rough  ex- 
teriors. It  is  the  gentle  expression,  the  kind  and  loving  thought, 
the  sympathetic  heart,  that  indicate  the  noble  spirit — the  true 
man  or  woman.  It  is  impossible  for  a  noble  nature  to  be  un- 
kind. Truly,  "  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 


70  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

TRUE  BEAUTY. 

A  pretty  form  and  face,  when  not  accompanied  by  vanity,, 
are  attractions  that  every  woman  may  be  pardoned  for  aspiring 
to.  Symmetry  and  beauty  of  person,  like  all  other  forms  of 
beauty,  have  a  spiritual  side  which  is  uplifting  and  ennobling. 
Who  can  deny  the  inspiring  effect  of  grand  natural  scenery — of 
majestic  mountains,  of  restless  oceans  and  summer  sunsets.  It 
is  only  when  we  learn  to  comprehend  the  spiritual  significance 
of  beautiful  forms  that  we  derive  the  highest  and  purest  delight 
therein.  True  beauty  must  belong  to  the  spirit  to  be  rightly 
appreciated.  A  beautiful  spirit  makes  the  plainest  features  of 
the  human  face  beautiful.  In  searching  for  the  beauty  which 
survives  the  ravages  of  time,  one  must  delve  beneath  the  surface 
of  things.  There  is  a  beauty  of  form  and  face  that  grows  more 
beautiful  with  time,  but  it  can  be  seen  only  with  the  eye  of  the 
spirit. 

SPIRITUAL  DISCERNMENT. 


When  one's  own  spiritual  nature  becomes  sufficiently  un- 
folded to  enable  one  to  discern  the  "  things  of  the  spirit,"  he 
then  has  no  further  use  for  those  manifestations  of  spirit  power 
that  appeal  only  to  the  physical  senses.  There  are  thousands 
of  Spiritualists,  who  believe  in  all  the  physical  phenomena 
known  as  spiritual  manifestations,  and  yet  who  are  never  seen 
in  seances  for  such  manifestations.  Why  is  it  ?  Simply  be- 
cause they  have  outgrown  the  conditions  making  such  manifes- 
tations necessary  for  their  communion  with  their  spirit  friends. 
They  have  learned  the  way  of  communing  in  spirit  on  the  higher 
plane  of  their  natures;  in  other  words,  they  have  learned  to  meet 
their  spirit  friends  on  their  own  grounds  and  in  their  own  ele- 
ments. While  physical  phenomena  is  necessary  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  the  skeptic,  it  should  be  regarded  but  as  the  pri- 
mary school  of  Spiritualism,  from  which  the  truly  progressive, 
soul  will  naturally  seek  to  graduate  as  soon  as  possible. 


A    MONSTER    OF    INIQUITY.  7  I 

A  MONSTER  OF  INIQUITY. 

What  a  monster  of  iniquity  has  man,  in  his  ignorance, 
made  of  the  All  Father  !  He  is  held  up  to  the  world  as  a  being 
of  omnipotent  power  and  infinite  cruelty,  who  can  be  placated 
only  by  the  most  obsequious  worship,  and  a  belief  in  a  stu- 
pendous absurdity.  To  question  the  existence  of  such  a  being 
is  to  cut  oneself  off  from  all  hope  here  or  hereafter.  It  is  to 
force  the  Father  to  consign  the  children  of  his  creation  to  ever 
lasting  woe,  with  never  a  chance  to  reform,  but  forever  and  ever 
to  suffer  torments  untold.  How  can  any  just  man  make  him- 
self believe  it  possible  for  him  to  love  such  a  being  !  How  un- 
like the  Infinite  Spirit  of  the  All  Good  that  the  unfolded  spirit 
of  this  more  enlightened  age  has  come  to  recognize  !  The  old 
faiths  of  the  world  are  being  slowly  undermined  by  the  newer 
and  better  philosophies  of  life,  and  ere  long  they  will  disappear 
altogether. 

ONE  WORLD  AT  A  TIME. 


"  One  world  at  a  time,"  is  a  wise  maxim,  in  a  general  sense, 
at  ihe  same  time  it  is  by  no  means  unwise  to  so  make  use  of 
the  "one  world  "  as  to  best  fit  onefor  the  next,  or  other  world. 
The  first  point  to  be  settled  is  that  involved  in  the  main  ques- 
tion, Is  there  any  other  world,  or  any  future  state  of  existence? 
All  Spiritualists  claim  to  have  settled  the  question,  and  all 
Christians  think  they  have — the  first  by  actual  knowledge,  and 
the  latter  by  faith.  Then,  knowing  that  this  life,  at  best,  is  of 
but  short  duration,  and  that  in  the  nature  of  things  it  must  be 
simply  preparatory  for  one  of  vastly  longer  duration,  is  it  not 
evident  that  the  highest  and  best  use  of  this  world  is  to  prepare 
one  for  the  more  enduring  realities  of  the  life  to  come  ?  Can 
any  sensible  mind  arrive  at  any  other  conclusion  ?  Why  then, 
in  our  declining  years,  should  we  cling  so  tenaciously  to  the 
things  of  earth,  not  one  of  which  can  we  take  with  us  into  the 
Beyond  ? 


72  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

ALMOST  THEKE. 


•''Almost  there ! "  said  the  grand  old  veteran,  as,  with  tot- 
tering form  and  feeble  step,  he  returned  my  friendly  greeting  as 
we  passed.  Yes,  indeed,  methought,  you  are  "  almost  there." 
A  very  little  while  and  the  pale  boatman  will  bear  you  away  to 
"the  land  of  rest,"  where  all  your  "possessions  lie."  How  grand 
it  must  be  to  feel  that  one's  work  on  earth  is  finished,  when  it 
has  been  well  done,  and  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  one 
can  lay  the  old  body  down,  and  step  forth  into  the  new  life ! 
Thrice  happy  day  !  No  more  the  bent  form  and  feeble  step  ! 
No  more  the  wrinkled  features,  nor  the  dull  senses !  But  from 
the  old  tenement  of  clay  steps  forth  a  spirit  form,  radiant  and 
fresh  with  the  lustre  of  perpetual  youth .  Happy,  ye  aged  one, 
who  can  say,  "All  hail  the  day  of  my  deliverance/' 


THF   DEVIL'S  PHILOSOPHY, 


"Eat,  drink  and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  ye  die."  That 
is  the  Devil's  philosophy — if  there  be  a  Devil.  It  is  the  phil- 
osophy of  the  devil  of  man's  undeveloped  nature — the  devil  of 
appetite,  of  lust,  of  sordid  purpose.  It  is  the  practice,  if  not 
the  philosophy,  of  the  great,  selfish,  masses  of  humanity, 
who  are  rushing  and  drifting  along  as  though  this  life  were  all. 
But  should  we  not  "eat,  drink  and  be  merry"  in  this  life? 
Certainly,  in  a  rational  sense,  but  not  because  "to-morrow  we 
die,"  but  because  to-morrow  we  live,  and  shall  live  forever. 
We  should  make  our  lives  joyous  with  the  sunshine  of  health* 
harmony,  and  true  happiness  here,  that  we  may  all  the  better 
be  prepared  for  that  "to-morrow"  which  will  come  to  all,  and 
to  many,  very  soon.  "What  profiteth  it  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
"whole  world  arid  lose  his  own  soul?"  That  is,  not  for  etern- 
ity, for  in  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  Creator  that  cannot  be; 
but  it  will  be  quite  long  enough,  we  doubt  not,  to  burn  away 
the  dross  in  the  furnace  fires  of  remorse. 


COME    WITH     ME.  73 

COME  WITH  ME. 


Come  with  me,  ye  sons  of  wealth  and  daughters  of  fashion — 
ye  who  live  in  the  complacent  belief  that  you  are  doing  your 
duty  to  yourself  and  to  your  fellow  beings — let  us  walk  forth 
together  through  the  by-ways  of  this  great  city.  O,  the  shame 
of  bartered  womanhood,  the  agony  of  dissipated  and  degraded 
manhood  !  O,  the  nights  of  revelry  and  debauch,  the  deeds  of 
crime,  the  homes  of  wretchedness  and  woe  !  Behold  the  fiery 
torrents  of  ruin  and  death  flowing  unceasingly  from  over  three 
thousand  fountains  of  hell !  See  ye  the  army  of  young  men, 
the  vast  multitudes  of  "foolish  virgins,"  building  for  dishonor, 
for  disease,  for  the  grave  !  What  can  you  do  to  prevent — to 
save?  Ask  your  own  conscience,  What  are  you  doing?  Place 
your  firm,  young  feet  upon  the  eternal  rock  of  truth,  and  by  ex- 
ample, by  precept,  by  all  the  energy  of  your  being  live  and  labor 
for  the  All-Good. 


No  man  has  a  right  to  live  upon  the  vices  or  weaknesses 
of  his  fellow-beings,  and  none  can  so  live  without  sinking  his 
own  spirit  into  the  depths  of  unutterable  misery.  He  may  not 
realize  it  in  his  years  of  earthly  prosperity — in  the  enjoyment  of 
gold  coined  from  the  heart's  blood  of  his  fellows, — but  there 
will  come  a  time  when  he  will  call  upon  the  rocks  to  hide  him 
from  the  eyes  of  an  offended  God — the  remorse  of  his  own 
conscience.  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  do  you  ask?  You 
are,  sir.  If  you  are  stronger,  or  wiser,  or  better  than  he,  you 
owe  him  of  your  strength,  wisdom  and  goodness,  to  protect  him 
in  his  weakness. 

How  small  the  range  of  vision  that  sees  not  beyond  the 
boundary  of  this  little  planet,  with  its  one  moon,  and  imagines 
that  the  Creator  of  millions  of  worlds  greater  than  ours,  and  of 
vastly  more  importance  in  the  plan  and  economy  of  the  uni- 
verse, should  have  to  embody  Himself  in  immortality  and  cause 


74  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Himself  to  be  executed  upon  the  cross,  in  order  to  avert  a  mo- 
ral catastrophe  to  the  human  race  !  Can  it  be  that  after  trying 
His  practiced  hand  on  systems  of  worlds  innumerable,  He 
should  come,  in  the  awful  perfection  of  His  skill,  to  make  such  a 
terrible  mistake  with  this  little  earth  ? 

* 

Large  souls  are  never  envious  or  jealous — never  seek  to 
build  themselves  up  by  pulling  others  down.  They  delight  in 
the  success  and  good  luck  of  their  neighbors — are  glad  when 
others  are  made  glad,  even  though  their  own  pathway  may  be 
beset  with  thorns.  And  when  fortune  smiles  upon  their  lives, 
they  are  always  ready  to  share  it  with  their  less  fortunate  friends 
and  neighbors.  The  world  needs  large  souls  to  bear  its  mighty 
burdens  of  truth  to  humanity — to  carry  forward  its  grand  re- 
formatory and  uplifting  work.  Thereby  are  the  children  of  the 
One  Father  led  onward  from  age  to  age,  and  from  lower  to 
higher  planes  of  spiritual  unfoldment. 

*  * 

How  eagerly  the  storm-tossed  mariner  watches  for  the 
land — for  the  haven  where  his  loved  ones  dwell.  They,  too, 
are  waiting  and  watching  for  the  gleam  of  his  welcome  sails — 
little  "  faces  by  the  pane,"  a  fond  mother,  perhaps  a  loving 
wife — all  eager  to  greet  the  wanderer  and  fold  him  in  the  heart 
of  home.  How  typical  of  the  journey  of  life;  and  how  precious 
the  thought  to  the  "  homeward  bound" — those  of  us  who  are 
nearing  the  silent  shore.  Soon  the  shadowy  hills  will  break 
upon  our  vision — soon  we  shall  drop  anchor  in  calm  waters, 
in  the  beautiful  harbor  of  rest. 

* ' 

Of  all  the  evils  that  ever  beset  the  human  race  there  is 

none  so  great  as  that  of  the  indulgence  in  strong  drink.  It  is 
the  giant's  heel  that  crushes  out  manhood — the  poison  breath 
that  blights  and  blisters  the  lives  of  all  with  whom  it  comes  in 
contact.  It  turns  angels  into  demons,  happy  homes  into  hovels 
of  wretchedness,  and  fills  the  world  with  misery  and  crime. 


SWORD    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  75 

And  yet  there  be  good  people  who  seek  to  justify  the  traffic  in 
rum  as  a  sort  of  necessary  evil !  Would  they  permit  a  mad  dog 
to  run  through  their  streets  to  bite  their  children  !  Is  hydro- 
phobia a  blessing  ? 


SWORD  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


"  The  sword  of  the  spirit  !  "  How  few  understand  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase;  certainly  none  who  have  never  felt  its 
mighty  power.  Words,  as  the  garments  of  thought,  may  be  ex- 
pressive in  an  intellectual  sense,  as  appealing  to  the  intellect; 
but  it  is  only  when  charged  with  spirit  power  that  they  strike 
home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  mt  n.  To  make  this 
power  effective,  the  writer  or  speaker  must  feel  its  animating 
and  beautiful  chemistry,  its  electric  thrill  and  glow,  surging 
through  his  own  being  like  a  mighty  tidal  wave  of  divine  strength 
and  power.  Then  the  words  he  utters  are  made  "the  sword  of 
the  spirit,"  to  overcome  all  opposition,  and  pierce  their  way  to 
the  quick  of  the  understanding  —  to  the  living  soul.  Armed 
with  this  formidable  power  one  man  becomes  a  host  in  the  bat- 
tles of  life. 


STUPENDOUS  MISTAKE. 


It  is  a  stupendous  mistake  for  anyone  to  imagine  that  he 
can  add  to  the  measure  of  his  own  happiness  by  destroying  the 
happiness  of  others ;  in  other  words,  that  he  can  derive  any 
lasting  benefit  to  himself  by  circumventing  his  neighbor.  The 
competitive  usages  of  trades  are  inimical  to  the  highest  wel. 
fare  of  society.  Competition  is  based  upon  the  law  of  might, 
and  not  upon  the  higher  spiritual  law  of  right.  It  presupposes 
a  superiority,  skill  or  judgment,  in  the  one  whereby  that  one's 
advantage  becomes  another's  disadvantage.  When  the  princi- 
ple of  co-operation  shall  prevail,  as  it  will  some  day,  then  the 
highest  interest  of  one  will  become  the  best  interest  of  all,  and 


76  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

no  one  will  think  to  advance  himself  except  by  the  advance- 
ment of  all.  There  is  a  deep  spiritual  significance  in  the 
saying,  "He  who  would  lose  his  life  shall  save  it ;"  that  is,  to 
give  is  to  receive,  in  the  highest  sense.  We  cannot  do  for 
others  without  doing  for  ourselves. 


ENLIGHTENED  CO-OPERATION  NECESSARY. 


Is  ours  the  highest  and  best  form  of  government  possible 
for  man  ?  Most  of  us  seem  to  think  so  about  once  a  year — 
on  the  Fourth  of  July ;  but  a  fair  consideration  of  the  iniqui- 
ties and  wrongs  practiced  under  our  laws,  or  against  their  en- 
forcement, would  hardly  warrant  any  such  conclusion.  A 
government  that  permits  the  existence  of  great  trusts  to  spec- 
ulate on  the  staples  of  life,  or  that  sanctions  the  traffic  in,  and 
use  of  death-dealing  stimulants,  cannot  be  other  than  a  stand- 
ing iniquity.  In  fact,  our  system  of  competitive  industry,  in 
which  the  weakest  are  forced  to  steal  or  starve,  when  once  they 
are  driven  from  the  field,  is  anything  but  to  the  advantage  of 
the  multitude.  A  condition  of  society,  abounding  in  prisons, 
poor-houses  and  insane  asylums,  cannot  surely  be  a  wise  or 
healthful  state  of  affairs.  It  is  only  by  enlightened  co-opera- 
tion that  society  can  find  rest  from  the  turmoil,  agitation  and 
wrong  now  everywhere  apparent. 

What  a  crude  if  not  cruel  idea  of  Supreme  Wisdom  or  jus- 
tice, it  is  to  suppose  that,  in  the  economy  of  creation,  evil 
should  be  accorded  any  especial  advantage  over  good.  If  un- 
developed or  evil  spirits  are  permitted  to  return  to  earth  to  en. 
snare  the  feet  of  the  unwary  to  their  eternal  destruction,  and 
good  spirits  are  not  allowed  to  make  use  of  the  same  law  of  return 
to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  evil  ones,  then  wherein,  pray, 
consists  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God?  Can  some  of  our 
smart  ecclesiastics — believers  in  the  Devil  theory  of  creation — 
answer  ? 


ONWARD.  77 

ONWARD. 


Onward,  ever  onward,  from  childhood  to  old  age,  with 
swiftly  gliding  footsteps,  moves  the  mighty  procession  of  human 
life.  To  some  it  is  the  butterfly  of  a  spring  morning,  with 
wings  purple  and  golden,  flitting  from  flower  to  flower,  followed 
by  the  dull  chrysalis  of  old  age,  as  the  sum  of  wasted  years. 
To  others,  it  is  the  struggle  with,  and  mastery  of  self — the 
outreaching  of  the  soul  for  the  Infinite — the  enlargement  and 
ripening  of  the  spiritual  powers,  growing  brighter  and  more 
beautiful  with  the  years — brushing  away  the  cobwebs  of  mor- 
tality, the  rust  and  corrosion  of  time,  and  at  last  entering  up- 
on the  life  beyond  full  grown  and  ripe  for  its  infinite  unfold- 
ments  and  possibilities.  It  is  only  by  the  constant  exercise  of 
our  powers,  in  any  direction  of  being,  that  we  can  hope  to 
grow.  If  we  would  wear  the  laurels,  we  must  win  and  merit 
them  by  our  own  efforts. 

HIGHEST  CONDITION  OF  JLIFE. 

If  everybody  sought  the  truest  welfare  of  his  neighbor  is 
it  not  apparent  that  there  would  be  no  poverty,  sin  or  suffering 
in  the  world  ?  Hence,  that  must  be  the  highest  condition  of 
life,  the  most  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  humanity,  that  exer- 
cises the  broadest  charity  and  liberality  among  men.  Should 
the  rich  man  "  sell  all  that  he  hath,  and  give  it  to  the  poor," 
as  Christ  recommended  the  one  who  came  to  him  in  trouble, 
to  do?  By  no  means.  That  was  doubtless  a  capital  case, 
and  one  that  required  heroic  treatment.  Wealth,  in  the  hands 
of  the  good  man,  becomes  a  power  for  good  in  the  wise  and 
noble  use  of  its  accumulations.  For  such  an  one  to  "give  all 
that  he  hath  to  the  poor,"  would  be  to  place  beyond  his  reach 
the  means  for  doing  great  good.  Besides,  the  poor  should  be 
assisted  into  ways  of  self-support,  rather  than  made  the  recip- 
ients of  charity,  which  should  always  be  the  last  resort,  where 
all  means  of  self-sustenance  fail. 


7$  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

THE  SWEETEST  PLEASURE. 

The  sweetest  pleasure  the  spirit  can  know  is  that  which  it 
shares  with  others.  What  joy  so  dear  to  the  mother's  heart  as 
that  she  experiences  in  ministering  to  the  needs  of  the  help- 
less babe  that  nestles  upon  her  bosom  ?  Thus  in  giving  she 
receives,  even  more  bountifully  than  she  gives.  And  herein 
we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  philosophy  of  happiness — in  the 
devotion  of  ourselves  to  the  amelioration  and  uplifting  of 
humanity.  How  it  broadens  one's  nature  and  brings  one  into 
kinship  with  the  great,  loving  Over-Soul  of  the  universe.  Did 
you  ever  think,  dear  reader,  that  you  cannot  pluck  a  thorn 
from  your  neighbor's  path  without  adding  a  rose  to  your  own  ? 
That  you  cannot  assuage  a  pang  of  a  suffering  soul,  or  pour 
the  balm  of  sympathy  upon  a  wounded  heart  without  laying 
up  pricelesss  treasures  of  joy  for  your  own  spirit  ?  But  so  in- 
deed it  is.  Heaven  is  made  up  of  generous,  loving,  noble 
spirits  who  vie  in  each  other's  welfare. 

There  is  something  sublimely  beautiful  in  a  serene  and 
happy  old  age.  The  struggles  of  life — the  rasping  cares  of 
business — the  work  and  worry  of  earlier  years,  now  are  past, 
and  in  sweet  content  the  aged  sire,  or  white  souled  matron, 
now  patiently  wait  for  the  change  that  will  unite  them  with 
their  loved  ones  on  the  other  shore.  To  the  man  or  woman 
who  has  lived  their  best  old  age  brings  joy,  and  not  sadness. 

* 

Where  is  the  man  who  would  like  to  marry  a  woman  who 
•chews  tobacco,  drinks  whisky,  or  uses  profane  or  vulgar  lan- 
guage? And  yet  many  a  man  who  indulges  in  all  of  these 
nastinesses  and  vices,  will  impose  himself  upon  a  pure  and 
loveable  woman  as  proper  material  for  a  decent  husband. 
Does  he  not  thereby  commit  a  felony  like  that  of  obtaining 
goods  under  false  pretenses,  and  ought  he  not  to  be  arrested 
and  punished  as  a  fraud  ? 


THE    STRUGGLE    OF    LIFK  79 

THE  STRUGGLE  OF  LIFE. 

"What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him?"  Greedy, 
selfish  and  sinful,  the  great  mass  of  humanity  appears  to  the 
spiritual  vision.  Each  for  himself,  struggling  to  overreach  his 
fellows  in  aggregating  to  his  own  advantage  the  perishable 
things  of  this  life.  And  yet,  here  is  the  soil  for  the  growth 
and  unfoldment  of  angels.  Mortal  life  is  so  short,  and  man 
has  so  many  needs,  and  is  such  a  creature  of  environment, 
that  we  sometimes  wonder  that  he  is  as  far  advanced,  spirit- 
ally,  as  he  is, — or  rather,  that  so  many  noble  examples  of 
unfolded  humanity  exist  in  the  world.  There  is  hope  for  all 
when  even  one  unselfish,  gentle,  loving  nature  is  found,  for  are 
not  all  children  of  the  one  Father,  and  equally  entitled  to  His 
care?  Can  God  afford  to  be  unjust?  He  certainly  would  be 
if  any  one  soul  in  all  His  vast  creation  were  suffered  to  grope 
forever  in  "outer  darkness/' 


No  cause  founded  on  truth  or  justice  can  be  ridiculed  or 
argued  down,  or  persecution  successfully  assail  it.  Did  not 
paganism,  with  all  its  mighty  enginery  of  power,  do  its  utmost 
to  crush  out  early  Christianity?  May  not  the  Christian  perse- 
cutors of  Spiritualism  profit  by  the  lesson  ?  Let  them  preach 
against  it,  and  they  but  emphasize  the  fact  of  its  existence,  and 
pave  the  way  to  the  investigation  of  its  phenomena  by  many 

who  would  otherwise  never  have  thought  of  it. 

*  * 
* 

Mr.  Colville  thinks  the  time  will  come  when  man  will  be 
ashamed  to  be  sick,  and  when  his  intuitions  will  be  so  devel- 
oped as  to  enable  him  to  be  forewarned,  and  thereby  able  to 
avoid  accidents.  Then,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  will  the  laying 
off  of  the  mortal  be  as  simple  and  painless  as  the  casting  aside 
of  an  old  and  worn-out  garment.  There  is  no  doubt  that  there 
is  a  perfection  of  physical  life  possible  to  man  whereof  he  little 
dreams  in  his  present  undeveloped  state. 


80  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Nature  is  ever  striving  for  the  best.  She  will  have  it  at  any 
cost.  This  is  apparent  in  all  forms  of  life  below  that  of  man. 
The  strongest  and  best  fitted  to  endure  survives ;  the  weakest 
is  crowded  out.  The  struggle  for  supremacy  is  ever  waging. 
In  the  world  of  moral  and  spiritual  forces  the  same  law  pre- 
vails, though  less  apparent  to  the  physical  senses.  Here,  too, 
nature  is  persistent  in  developing  the  best.  She  is  ever  seek- 
ing for  a  better  order  of  manhood — for  a  manhood  akin  to 
angelhood,  and  will  be  content  with  nothing  less.  Knowing 
her  purposes  in  creation,  how  can  man  have  the  heart  to  dis- 
appoint her,  by  proving  himself  unworthy  of  her  high  expec- 
tations. 

Blessed  indeed  is  the  one  upon  whose  life  has  fallen  the 
sweet  baptism  of  love  and  light  from  the  spirit  world,  infusing 
the  soul  with  thoughts  of  love  divine  for  all  mankind,  and 
drawing  it  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  heart  of  Infinite  Goodness. 

#  * 

Nature  is  a  kind  and  gentle  mother  to  all  who  live  in  har- 
mony with  her  laws — who  obey  her  mandates.  To  them  she 
brings  the  sunshine  of  joy  and  gladness — in  the  bounding  heart 
beats  of  youth,  in  the  eager  energies  and  pursuits  of  middle 
life,  and  in  the  calm  restfulness  of  old  age — and  they  find  it 

good  to  live. 

*  * 

"Progress"  is  the  watchword  of  the  age.  We  are  im- 
proving our  methods  and  our  machinery  in  all  directions  of 
life  and  industry.  Why  should  our  religious  creeds  be  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule?  Shall  we  arrange' vast  systems  of  rapid 
communication  throughout  the  world,  circumvent  the  globe 
with  electric  wires,  and  climb  to  cerulean  hights  of  grandeur 
in  all  that  affects  man's  physical  welfare,  and  still  continue  to 
carry  our  religious  grist  to  mill  with  the  corn  in  one  end  of  the 
bag  and  a  stone  in  the  other  ? 


-ARROGANCE    OF    OPINION.  8 1 

ARROGANCE  OF  OPINION. 


The  arrogance  of  opinion  is  the  rock  that  has  wrecked  and 
broken  in  pieces  whole  argosies  of  happiness.  Here  is  where 
many  a  society,  organized  for  good  work,  has  foundered  and 
gone  down.  Some  strongly  magnetic  man  or  woman  asserts  a 
proposition,  authoritatively  and  reckless  of  the  opinions  of 
others.  They  draw  around  them  their  followers.  Others, 
alike  constituted,  assert  the  opposite.  Soon  the  society  is 
divided  in  cliques  and  factions,  all  bitterly  endeavoring  to 
destroy  each  other;  and  then  they  all  fly  apart  and  chaos 
reigns.  Men  will  respect  the  opinions  of  others,  we  care  not 
what  they  may  be,  when  presented  in  a  modest  and  respectful 
manner.  The  "  sledge  hammer  "  style  of  argument  never  con- 
vinces, and  generally  shocks  and  disgusts  those  it  is  aimed  to 
convince.  Spiritualists  should  bear  this  thought  in  mind. 


When  will  the  world  learn  that  there  are  higher  and  better 
uses  for  human  energies  than  in  their  exclusive  devotion  to  the 
acquisition  of  wealth.  If  the  young  man,  of  bright  hopes  and 
laudable  ambition,  could  only  realize  how  the  eager  pursuit  of 
gain  is  apt  to  shrivel  up  the  spirit,  and  encase  it  in  an  armor 
of  selfishness — how  like  the  sirocco  of  the  desert  it  will  dry 
out  of  his  nature  the  sweet  juices  of  benevolence,  and "" the 
thought  for  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  beings — we  think  he  would 
see  to  it  that  other  and  higher  objects  in  life  should  absorb  a 

portion  of  his  attention. 

# 
*  * 

It  is  not  for  man  to  question  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator. 
If  He  sees  fit  to  create  venomous  reptiles,  or  fan  the  soft  airs 
of  heaven  into  devastating  cyclones,  or  rend  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  itself  with  mighty  convulsions,  that  is  his  business 
— ours  to  keep  out  of  the  way — if  we  can,  and  if  we  can't,  to 
accept  the  situation  in  a  manner  that  will  produce  the  least 
disturbance  to  ourselves. 

OFTHF 


82  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS.  ' 

There  is  an  old  adage  that  "the  good  die  young." — Be- 
cause they  are  denied  the  time  and  opportunity  to  become 
bad  !  The  real  good  are  those  who  have  struggled  with  life's 
temptations  and  have  overcome  them — who  have  conquered 
their  own  natures,  and  who  live  to  bless  others.  That  kind  of 

"  good"  always  "  die  old." 

*  * 

Self-reliance  is  a  better  legacy  for  a  young  man  to  begin 
business  with  than  much  gold.  If  to  this  be  added  habits  of 

temperance  and  industry  success  in  life  is  certain. 

*  * 
* 

We  are  told  that  "  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn 
lamb ; "  that  is,  provided  the  lamb  be  shorn  in  the  right  sea- 
son. The  truth  is,  Nature,  of  which  wind  and  lamb  are  both 
parts,  is  as  heartless  as  the  avalanche.  It  kills  or  maims  all 
who  get  in  the  way  of  her  laws.  She  is  kind  only  to  those 

who  have  instinct  enough,  or  sense  enough  to  obey  her  laws. 

*  * 
* 

There  is  no  fact  of  nature  of  quite  as  much  importance 
o  the  world  as  the  fact  of  the  continuance  of  human  life  be- 
yond the  gates  of  death.  A  thorough  understanding  and 
adaptation  of  this  truth  to  mortal  existence  means  everything  of 
good  to  the  race.  It  will  eventually  bring  about  an  era  of 

universal  brotherhood  wherein  no  one  can   do  another  wrong. 

*  * 
* 

Spiritualism  not  only  brings  us  a  positive  knowledge  of  a 
future  life,  enabling  us  to  hold  happy  communion  with  our 
loved  ones  on  the  other  side,  but  it  brings  to  the  world  a  clear- 
er and  better  conception  of  human  life  and  duty.  It  shows 
up,  in  a  clear,  white  light,  the  misconceptions  of  theology 
concerning  a  future  life,  and  indicates  the  proper  unfoldment 
of  man's  spiritual  nature  in  this  life  in  order  to  attain  true  hap- 
piness in  the  next.  Spiritualism  and  Galvanism  !  Light  and 
darkness — Gabriel  and  Lucifer  ! 


DON'T  WORRY.  85 

WON'T  WORRY. 


Don't  worry ;  it  only  makes  matters  worse.  Is  rent  day 
near?  Have  you  bills  to  meet  and  nothing  to  meet  them  with? 
Do  the  best  you  can,  leave  no  resource  unexhausted;  but  don't 
worry.  You  will  need  a  clear  brain  to-morrow  to  plan  with. 
If  you  lay  awake  all  night,  worrying  over  your  troubles,  your 
nerves  and  brain  will  be  in  no  condition  for  business — for  cool^ 
deliberate  planning.  And  then  some  wise  spirit  friend,  seeing, 
a  way  out  of  your  trouble,  might  come  and  impress  you  (they 
often  do),  if  you  will  keep  yourself  in  a  passive  condition. 
They  cannot  come  to  you  when  you  are  excited,  or  your  nerves 
are  all  unstrung  with  worriment.  Bear  in  mind  that  no  one 
can  do  his  best  unless  he  keeps  cool.  The  prize-fighter  wha 
loses  his  temper  is  lost.  Many  a  bankrupt  might  have  avoided 
disaster  if  he  had  only  not  given  away  to  despair.  Whoever 
does  his  best  can  do  no  more.  Then  if  he  fails  he  has  no- 
right  to  blame  himself  therefor.  We  are  all  human,  and  all 
liable  to  err  in  judgment. 

UNSUNG    HEROES. 

The  world  has  many  heroes  whose  deeds  are  unsung.  There 
is  one  now,  across  the  street — that  pale,  delicate  young  girl,  mod- 
estly going  to  her  daily  task,  at  the  counter  or  the  printer's  case, 
where  by  eight,  or  perhaps  ten  hours  of  patient  toil,  she  earns 
ten  or  twelve  dollars  a  week.  And  this  meager  income  she 
faithfully  hands  over  to  her  mother  for  family  expenses — to  sup- 
port an  invalid  father,  perhaps,  and  two  or  three  younger  sisters. 
How  her  modest  eyes  droop  as  she  feels  the  vulgar  stare  of  the 
young  roues  at  the  street  corner  !  How  patiently  she  pursues 
her  task,  spurning  the  hourly  temptation  to  a  life  of  gilded  sin — 
lifting  her  soul  in  prayer  for  help  to  be  good  and  true,  and  bear 
up  bravely  under  the  crosses  of  life.  Do  we  not  all  know  of 
many  such,  of  both  sexes,  and  are  they  not  angels  of  light  and 
love  to  mark  the  way  for  human  duty? 


84  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Do  not,  O  sorrowing  mortal, — O  victim  of  disaster, — 
waste  your  precious  hours  in  thinking  perpetually  of  your  own 
troubles  !  Have  you  lost  your  fortune  ?  Think  of  some  poor 
fellow  sojourner  to  the  grave  who  has  not  only  lost  his  fortune 
but  his  health  also,  and  extend  to  him  the  blessing  of  a  gentle 
word  of  sympathy.  Have  you  lost  an  eye  or  a  leg  by  some 
unfortunate  disaster?  Let  your  compassion  go  out  to  the  one 
who  has  suffered  the  loss  of  both  eyes,  or  legs.  Most  of  the 
unhappiness  in  this  world  comes  of  brooding  over  our  own 
troubles.  It  will  mostly  disappear  when  we  turn  our  thoughts 

and  sympathies  to  others. 

*  * 
* 

It  does  no  good  to  scold,  or  find  fault  with  your  neighbors. 
You  cannot  mend  their  faults  in  that  way,  while  you  will  be 
apt  to  cloud  your  own  spirit.  There  is  a  bright  side  to  every 
human  nature,  no  matter  how  undeveloped  or  befogged  by  vice 
or  crime.  It  is  by  this  bright  side,  where  are  located  the  open 
windows  of  the  soul,  we  must  always  approach  our  fellow 
beings,  if  we  would  do  them  good.  Try  it,  ye  who  would  work 
the  reformation  of  humanity.  Reach  forth  a  loving  hand  to 
the  erring  one;  it  is  only  thus  that  you  can  become  his  savior. 

TEACHING  BY  PKECEPT. 


Teaching  by  precept  has  a  double  force  when  backed  up 
by  example.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  tell  others  what  to  do 
and  how  to  do  it;  not  always  so  easy  to  practice  what  one 
preaches.  We  all  know,  or  think  we  know,  right  from  wrong. 
The  thought  of  the  right  will  help  others,  who  are  wavering  in 
the  balance,  to  a  better  life;  but  its  moral  force  is  lost  upon  o  ur 
selves  unless  we  square  our  lives  by  that  thought.  And  us 
here  is  the  lesson:  All  the  helps  in  the  universe  will  profit  us 
nothing  unless  we  help  ourselves.  And  the  very  moment  we 
determine  to  help  ourselves,  it  is  amazing  how  numerous  and 
potent  will  be  the  friendly  forces  that  will  come  to  our  assistance. 


BE    COMFORTED.  85 

I5E  COMFOKTEB. 

O  hearts  that  ache  from  the  loss  of  loved  ones  !  Be 
comforted  with  the  blessed  thought  that  there  is  only  a  thin 
veil  between  you  and  them !  And  this  knowledge  is  the 
glorious  boon  that  Spiritualism  has  brought  to  the  world.  How 
it  lifts  the  clouds  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  and  takes  that 
heavy  weight  of  woe  out  of  the  heart.  The  saddest  place  in 
-all  this  world  is  an  orthodox  funeral,  with  its  hopeless,  cheerless 
gloom  of  the  grave.  Not  a  ray  of  light,  not  a  glimmer  of 
hope,  when  your  unconverted  loved  one  dies  !  No  escape 
from  God's  wrath !  Lost,  lost,  eternally  lost  !  Why,  it  is 
enough  to  make  the  corpse  rise  up  in  its  coffin  and  rebuke  the 
"minister  of  God  "  who  dares  thus  to  malign  the  All-loving 
Father ! 


A  GRAND 


We  know  a  grand  unselfish  soul — a  man  at  the  head  of  a 
large  and  profitable  business,  giving  employment  to  many 
hands — a  Spiritualist  in  the  truest  meaning  of  the  word — who 
religiously  gives  away  to  charitable  purposes,  every  dollar  of  his 
large  income  not  otherwise  needed  for  the  proper  support  of 
his  family.  He  helps  every  worthy  cause  to  the  extent  of  his 
last  available  dollar,  and  then  regrets  that  he  has  not  more  to 
.give.  No  poor  or  sick  medium  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain, 
.and  no  hand  of  worthy  want,  outstretched  to  him,  ever  returned 
to  its  owner  empty.  He  gives  for  the  very  love  of  giving.  His 
.sympathetic  nature  overflows  with  goodness,  with  kind  and  lov- 
ing thoughts,  with  generous  and  noble  impulses,  towards  all 
humanity.  Riches !  what  does  he  care  for  worldly  wealth. 
His  riches  are  of  a  kind  that  never  perish.  Why,  he  could  pile 
.up  a  mint  of  money  if  he  so  desired;  but  he  prefers  to  enjoy  it 
in  making  others  happy  as  he  gees  along.  And  so  he  fills  the 
.air  all  around  him  with  sunshine.  What  a  host  of  loving  spirits 


86  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

will  stand  at  the  portals  to  bid  him  welcome  to  his  beautiful 
home  in  the  "sweet  by  and  by  ! "  What  a  host  surround  him, 
here  to  bless  and  gladden  his  life  ! 


SPIRITUAL  CRIPPLES. 

Let  us  be  honest  with  ourselves.  We  can't  afford  to  deal- 
unfairly  with  our  own  spirits.  In  fact  we  can't  do  it  and  ex- 
pect to  escape  the  consequences.  If  we  cramp  our  spiritual 
natures  into  a  straight  jacket,  and  take  on  the  conditions  of  er- 
ror incidental  to  such  spiritual  distortion,  we  can  expect  nothing 
else  than  that  we  shall  enter  the  other  life  spiritual  cripples, 
with  our  faculties  for  growth  and  unfoldment  seriously  impaired. 
It  is  with  the  spirit  as  with  a  dwelling  house :  Open  the  win- 
dows, and  pure  air  and  sunshine  will  flow  in,  bringing  health 
and  happiness  to  the  inmates ;  close  them  and  the  pale  shadow 
of  disease  and  death  will  ere  long  make  its  presence  felt. 


AN  EMPTY  SHELL. 


What  an  empty  shell  is  life  not  lived  to  some  good  purpose  f 
How  barren  and  desolate  it  seems !  How  vastly  more  so  when 
perverted  by  selfishness  into  corrupt  and  dishonest  ways  !  If 
we  could  only  see  ourselves  as  we  are  seen  by  those  shining 
ones  who  have  fought  the  good  fight  over  their  lower  natures 
and  won  the  glad  victory,  how  small  and  unworthy  we  would 
seem  in  our  own  eyes.  Scavengers  of  earth,  gathering  up  rags 
and  rubbish  for  mortal  junk  shops.  Bye-and-bye  death  comes 
a  ong  and  breathes  upon  our  possessions,  and  they  all  vanish, 
and  we  with  them.  The  question  which  the  angel  of  each  in- 
dividual conscience  will  ask  its  owner  sometime,  will  not  be, 
How  much  money  did  you  make  on  earth  ?  but,  How  did  you 
make  it,  and  what  have  you  now  to  show  for  it?  There,  your 
bank  deposit  will  go  for  naught,  and  your  houses  and  lands 
also.  What  else  have  you?  Ah,  brother  mortal,  beware! 


WHAT    ARE    WE    HERE    FOR?  87 

WHAT  ARE  WE  HERE  FOR? 


Just  in  proportion  as  man  lives  unselfishly,  and  kindly 
assists  in  bearing  the  burdens  of  others — helping  the  weak 
over  the  rough  places,  and  the  foolish  to  better  ways  of  life — 
will  he  be  blessed  in  his  own  spirit.  What  are  we  here  for? 
To  fatten  on  the  labor  of  others,  and  profit  by  our  superior 
ability  or  opportunities  ?  By  no  means.  It  is  thus  that  we 
put  away  the  day  of  our  own  truest  unfoldment.  We  harden 
our  natures  to  the  gentle  influences  of  the  spirit  world.  We 
grow  tough  and  resistant  to  the  softening  and  moulding, 
processes  of  the  angel  ones  who  would  lead  us  upward  into  the 
light  and  glory  of  true  manhood  or  womanhood,  and  mould  us 
into  the  image  of  the  divine.  Life  is  at  best  but  a  hrief  day. 
It  is  so  short,  and  there  is  really  so  little  of  it,  that  it  doesn't  pay 
to  be  mean,  or  unkind,  or  uncharitable.  We  were  but  boys 
and  girls  yesterday ;  to-day,  with  many  of  us,  the  shadows  of 
evening  are  lengthing ;  to-morrow 


CONCLUSIVE  EVIDENCE. 

A  message  written  betweem  slates,  locked  and  sealed — 
the  slates  prepared  by  one's  self  and  not  for  a  moment  out  of 
one's  hands  or  sight,  ought  to  be  conclusive  evidence  to  any 
fair  mind  of  the  existence  of  an  independent  intelligent, 
though  unseen,  power,  capable  of  communicating  with  mortals. 
This  evidence  has  come  to  thousands  through  our  mediums  for 
this  phase  of  spirit  manifestation,  and  may  be  witnessed  by 
any  reasonable  person,  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  investigate. 
When  this  message  comes  in  the  familiar  hand-writing  of  some 
loved  one  who  has  passed  to  the  other  shore,  and  also  bears 
internal  evidence  of  its  genuineness,  what  sense  is  there  in 
attributing  it  to  anything  else  than  what  it  purports  to  be ?  "I 
am  your  mother,  and  I  come  to  prove  to  you  that  I  still  live 
and  love  you,"  appears  written  between  slates  held  in  the  hands 


88  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

of  the  son,  in  that  mother's  familiar  hand,  with  her  name  in 
full,  that  the  medium  never  knew.  "  Go  away  from  me;  you 
are  the  Devil," says  our  Adventist  friend  ;  "my  mother  is  sleep- 
ing in  the  grave  waiting  for  the  resurrection  !"  This  is  a  funny 
world.  P.  S. — We  wish  to  add  that  we  have  had,  many  times, 
through  that  grand  medium,  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  the  most  positive 
evidence  of  independent  spirit  writing. 


The  first  thing  a  man  or  woman  should  do,  after  coming 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  continued  existence,  should  be 
to  adjust  his  life  in  harmony  therewith.  He  should  realize 
that  only  by  the  unfoldment  of  his  own  spirit  can  he  expect  to 
reach  the  highest  rewards  of  happiness  in  this  life  or  the  next. 
He  must  lay  aside  the  besetting  evils  of  his  lower  nature — all 
jealousy,  envy,  and  unkindness,  and  seek  for  the  highest  good 
in  his  own  life,  and  of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 
Not  to  do  this  is  to  fail  to  profit  by  the  glorious  lesson  of  angel 
ministration. 


IRRECONCILABLE  CONTRADICTIONS. 

Why  is  it  that  some  men  succeed  in  business  in  spite  of 
themselves,  while  others  fail,  notwithstanding  they  put  forth 
the  best  of  efforts  ?  James  Lick  was  a  type  of  the  former  class. 
Having  lived  near  him  for  many  years  it  was  the  writer's  priv- 
ilege to  know  something  of  this  man's  personal  ways.  He 
never  undertook  a  business  project  that  was  not  marked  by  al- 
most sublime  folly.  He  built  a  flouring  mill,  in  the  Santa 
Clara  valley,  the  heavy  timbers  of  which  were  polished  ma- 
hogany imported  from  Central  America,  while  the  mountains, 
a  few  mihs  distant,  abounded  in  the  choicest  redwood  and  fir. 
He  spent  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  money  improving  a  portion 
of  his  property,  which  he  afterward  donated  to  the  Paine  Hall 
people  of  Boston,  and  which  they  sold  for  less  than  $20,000. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  these  and  many  other  like  follies, 


SCIENTIFIC    CONDITIONS.  89 

James  Lick  accumulated  several  millions  of  dollars,  which  he 
wisely  gave  to  noble  uses  !  Such  financial  contradictions  are 
irreconcilable  with  all  known  business  principles.  Who  can 
explain  them  ? 


SCIENTIFIC  CONDITIONS. 


Spiritualists  who  insist  upon  scientific  Spiritualism,  or 
phenomena  under  scientific  conditions,  are  often  most  unscien- 
tific in  their  methods.  They  impose  on  mediums  conditions 
which  are  at  utter  variance  with  the  laws  of  mediumship,  and 
call  their  methods  scientific.  For  instance,  the  occult  tele- 
graph will  work  best,  if  at  all,  when  held  in  the  lap  of  the 
medium,  or  very  closely  to  his  or  her  aura.  It  will  work  in  a 
harmonious  atmosphere  when  not  in  contact  with  the  medium, 
but  the  results  will  not  be  as  satisfactory.  Here  is  a  law  not 
difficult  to  be  understood — or  perhaps  we  should  say,  a  fact, 
that  pertains  alike  to  psychography  and  other  phases  of  physical 
mediumship.  Harmony  is  always  essential  to  good  manifesta- 
tions. To  challenge  the  genuineness  of  a  manifestation  upon 
the  offer  of  money  to  produce  it,  or  upon  a  wager,  is  to  create 
a  resistent  force  that  will  generally  so  disturb  the  conditions  as 
to  prevent  the  manifestation.  In  the  light  of  this  fact,  what 
course  would  the  true  scientist  naturally  pursue  in  searching 
for  the  truth  ? 

The  most  sterling  manhood  is  almost  invariably  self-made. 
It  is  the  hard  struggle  with  poverty,  and  other  seemingly  un- 
friendly conditions  of  life,  that  give  keenness  to  one's  faculties. 
This  struggle  has  made  a  success  of  many  a  man  who,  with  a 
fortune  to  start  with,  would  have  grown  limp  and  good  for 
nothing.  In  fact,  there  are  but  very  few  of  our  men  of  wealth 
or  worth  of  to-day  who  did  not  start  at  the  bottom  of  fortune's 
ladder. 


90  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

FUNERAL  CEREMONIES. 


The  Spiritualistic  world  is  hardly  yet  prepared  to  accept 
cremation  as  a  proper  means  for  the  disposal  of  the  bodies  of 
the  dead.  While  many  approve  the  theory  as  applied  to  other 
people's  dead,  but  few  are  quite  ready  to  adopt  the  practice  as 
regards  their  own.  Still  there  is  a  compromise  ground  on 
which  all  ought  to  be  willing  to  stand.  All  Spiritualists  will 
admit  that  our  present  expensive  funeral  system,  with  its 
showy  hearse  and  casket,  and  its  long  procession  of  hired 
hacks,  is  not  the  proper  manner  to  show  our  respect  for  the 
dead ;  it  is,  besides,  not  at  all  consistent  with  our  belief.  A 
much  better  way  would  be  to  consign  the  body  to  earth  in  an 
unexpensive  way,  privately  and  without  the  least  ceremony, 
and  then  on  the  following  Sunday,  say,  (as  that  day  is  more 
convenient  for  a  public  assemblage,)  hold  a  memorial,  or  resur- 
rection service,  in  honor  of  the  departed.  This  service  could 
be  made  most  expressive  and  instructive.  It  should  be  free 
from  all  funeral  trappings.  The  hall  or  home  where  it  is  held 
should  be  decorated  with  flowers  and  vines,  and  instead  of  one 
speaker,  wre  would  invite  all  who  felt  so  disposed,  to  assist  in 
making  the  occasion  worthy  of  the  risen  spirit.  This,  it  seems 
to  us,  would  be  a  happy  improvement  on  our  present  funeral 
system. 

-4-/-V-*- 

+u+ 

DON'T  CROWD. 

Don't  crowd.  The  world  is  broad  and  wide.  There  is 
room  for  all,  and  enough  for  all,  if  those  who  already  have  more 
than  their  share  will  only  stop  crowding.  Why  should  any  one 
want  more  than  he  can  wisely  use?  It  only  brings  a  burden  of 
care  that  is  anything  but  happiness.  One  of  the  richest  men 
in  this  state,  one  who  is  devoting  a  large  share  of  his  many 
millions  to  a  mighty  educational  enterprise,  was  recently  asked 
his  opinion  upon  the  subject.  He  replied  that  his  great  wealth 


A    LITTLE    WHILE.  91 

brought  him  anything  but  rest  and  comfort.  On  the  other  hand, 
It  was  a  source  of  perpetual  annoyance  to  him.  It  bound  him 
a  slave  to  the  wheels  of  drudgery  and  hard,  unceasing  work. 
Far  better  for  his  own  happiness  if  he  possessed  only  a  humble 
competency.  Such,  we  doubt  not,  is  the  experience  of  all  rich 
men  ;  they  are  slaves  to  their  possessions.  But  not  all  are  so 
wisely  decorating  their  chains  with  beautiful  flowers  of  the  spirit 
.as  he  of  whom  we  speak.  My  hard-working,  wealth-seeking 
brother  or  sister,  thank  God,  and  take  courage,  that  you  are 
not  rich. 


A  LITTLE  WHILE. 


A  little  while  and  the  dream  of  life  will  be  ended  ;  the 
curtain  will  fall,  the  lights  be  turned  out,  and  we  shall  go  to 
our  homes  to  sleep  till  the  morning  dawns.  And  what  a  morn- 
ing that  will  be  !  Did  its  full  significance  ever  occur  to  you, 
dear  reader  ?  As  you  wake,  to  consciousness,  you  will  find 
yourself  surrounded,  perhaps,  by  a  circle  of  happy  faces,  of 
those  near  and  dear  to  you,  who  went  out  from  your  mortal 
life  and  left  you  crushed  and  desolate.  A  fond  mother,  a 
precious  child,  a  beloved  wife  or  husband,  all  waiting  to  give 
you  a  glad  greeting  and  welcome  to  your  spirit  home.  Who 
talks  to  you  now  of  woe,  of  pain  or  sorrow,  as  the  roseate 
dawning  of  that  first  new  day  in  the  "land  beyond  the  river," 
breaks  upon  your  enraptured  vision  !  A  little  while,  aged 
brother,  sister,  and  the  Angel  of  Delieverance  will  invite  you 
to  lay  your  burden  down  and  rest. 


There  is  no  one  virtue  that  Spiritualists  need  to  cultivate 
quite  as  much  as  that  of  forbearance  with  those  who  do  not 
agree  with  them.  Here,  for  instance,  is  some  medium  that 
scores  of  good,  honest  people  believe  in  —  whose  genuineness 
they  claim  to  know  •  while  other  scores  are  equally  certain 
that  said  medium  is  a  shameless  trickster  and  cheat.  Neither 


92  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

party  is  willing  to  tolerate  the  opinions  of  the  other,  and  so- 
they  allow  the  serenity  of  their  souls  to  become  disturbed  with 
unkind  feeling  toward  each  other.  Ah,  friends,  it  is  of  far  less 
consequence  to  you  that  said  medium  is  dishonest,  or  other- 
wise, than  it  is  that  your  own  life  is  made  sweet  and  beautiful.. 


"T.ET  US  PIIAY." 

Not  to  a  personal  God,  for  we  have  no  evidence  that 
there  is  any  such  being  in  the  Universe.  Not  for  the  purpose 
of  changing  any  law  of  nature,  or  persuading  the  Infinite  En- 
ergy, called  by  many  names,  to  do  what  He  or  It  would  other- 
wise not  do ;  but  simply  because  prayer  is  a  natural  attribute 
of  the  unfolded  spirit,  and  by  it  the  spirit  is  brought  into  beau- 
tiful unison  and  harmony  with  the  Spirit  of  Nature — with  the 
magnetic  currents  of  sympathetic  thoughts  of  love,  and  good- 
ness, that  flow  in  and  about  all  human  life  upon  this  planet,, 
and  connect  it  with  the  higher  forms  of  life  of  all  planets. 
True  prayer  is  simply  an  aspiration  for  the  best  in  one's  own 
soul,  and  in  all  other  souls.  The  truly  spiritual  man  is  com- 
pelled to  pray,  in  this  sense,  and  he  cannot  help  it. 

There  never  was  so  much  honor  and  virtue  in  the  world 
as  there  is  now — never  so  much  charity,  or  goodness — never 
so  much  aspiration  and  striving  for  the  higher  life.  It  is  true 
that  vice  abounds, — so  did  it  ever.  But  never  so  little  as  now. 
The  race  is  slowly  but  surely  coming  "up  the  steeps  of  time." 

*  * 

Press  on,  O  pilgrim,  journeying  through  the  valley  and 
shadow  of  time.  There  is  a  station  just  ahead  where  you  can 
lay  aside  your  burdens  and  rest  fur  the  night — the  night  that 
bridges  the  chasm  between  two  eternities,  the  past  and  the 
future.  Beyond,  you  will  find  the  journey  easy  and  the  burden 
light — if  you  so  will  it  here. 


DOGMATISM.  93 

DOGMATISM* 


Suppose  the  universe  is  governed  by  law,  as  it  doubtless 
is,  then  what  is  law,  where  did  it  come  from,  and  who  made  it? 
May  there  not  be  a  Something  behind  law  that  we  know  noth- 
ing about  ?  The  Spiritualist  possesses  a  knowledge  of  spirit- 
ual things  that  the  Materialist  denies.  Why  should  the  former 
deny  the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  far  greater  spiritual 
realities  whereof  he  has  no  knowledge  ?  It  becomes  us  all,  in 
our  researches  through  Nature,  to  be  humble  and  modest  in 
our  conclusions.  Dogmatic  theology  has  been  the  evil  genius 
of  humanity.  Dogmatism  in  science  is  but  little  better.  What 
most  of  us  do  not  know  about  Nature,  and  its  pulsating  ener- 
gies, would  make  many  large  volumes. 


tot— 


Ye  shining  ones,  look  down  in  tender  pity  upon  the  heart 
where  nestles  no  brood  of  loving  thoughts — no  holy  desire  for 
another's  welfare — no  gentle  promptings  to  a  better  life.  If 
there  is  a  being  in  the  universe  who,  more  than  another,  needs 
our  deepest  sympathy,  it  is  that  one. 

The  man  who,  from  choice,  would  live  the  life  of  a  cele- 
bate — going  and  coming  from  his  solitary  den  through  all  the 
dreary  years  of  his  existence,  until  death  claims  him  for  his 
own, — with  no  gentle  welcome  home,  nor  parting  blessing  as 
he  goes  forth  to  mingle  with  the  world, — with  no  loving  hand 
to  smooth  the  wrinkles  of  caje  from  his  brow, — and  with  no 
eye  to  shed  a  tear  upon  his  grave, — is  a is  unwise  ! 

What  better  protection  from  evil  associations  can  a  young 
man  or  woman  have  than  the  thought  that  the  eyes  of  a  loving 
spirit  mother  are  upon  them,  and  her  gentle  presence  ever  near 
them  when  they  would  go  astray  ?  If  Spiritualism  is  a  good 
thing  for  the  aged,  affording  them  comfort  and  happiness  as 


94  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

they  near  the  dark  river  of  death,  is  it  not  far  better  for  the 
young  as  they  move  amid  the  temptations  and  vicissitudes  of 
life? 

#'* 

Those  good  people,  who,  with  their  eyes  set  in  the  back 
of  their  heads,  are  forever  prating  of  the  "good  old  days,"  and 
drawing  comparisons  between  the  past  and  the  present,  highly 
unfavorable  to  the  latter,  should  visit  the  ruined  cities  of 
Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  recently  unearthed  from  the  horrid 
nightmare  of  raging  Vesuvius.  They  will  there  see  evidences  of 
moral  degradation  which  would  forever  close  their  mouths  to  the 
superior  excellence  of  the  people  of  past  ages. 

Don't  worry  yourselves  by  disturbing  the  palpitant  air  with 
bewailings  for  your  sins.  That  is  a  matter  the  remedy  for 
which  is  in  your  own  hands.  If  you  are  under  the  dominion 
of  sin,  why  not  throw  off  the  yoke  and  step  forth  a  free  man  ? 
Salvation  from  sin  is  simply  ceasing  to  do  evil  and  learning  to 
do  well.  If  you  know  the  wrong,  why  persist  in  doing  it  ? 
And  above  all,  do  not  lay  the  responsibility  of  your  sinful  acts 
upon  the  shoulders  of  another.  There  is  enough  of  divinity 
in  every  soul  to  save  it,  if  it  but  thinks  so. 

*  * 

"O  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us, 
To  see  oursels  as  ithers  see  us," 

So  sang  the  Scottish  bard;  but  the  "giftie,"  are  not, 
unfortunately,  as  far  as  heard  from,  able  to  bestow  that  power 
upon  mortals.  At  least  but  very  few  of  us  seem  to  have  the 
power  of  visional  introspection  to  the  extent  desired  by  the 
poet.  Some  people  are  shocked  at  defects  they  see  in  others, 
when  the  same  or  greater  defects  constitute  the  most  prominent 
features  of  their  own  lives  and  characters.  They  diagnose 
others'  cases  by  their  own  prevailing  symptoms,  and  prescribe 
accordingly  ;  but  they  seldom  take  their  own  medicine. 


THE    DEAREST    SPOT.  95 

THE  DEAREST  SPOT. 


What  are  the  dearest  spots  in  one's  memory,  around  which 
one  most  delights  to  linger  ?  Are  they  not  those  occasions 
when  some  loving  thought  found  expression,  or  some  noble 
and  generous  action  was  done  ?  Do  we  ever  cherish  the  recol- 
lection of  our  meanness — of  the  things  we  would  gladly  forget  ? 
In  some  moment  of  anger,  or  thoughtlessness,  who  is  there 
that  has  not  said  or  done  something  he  would  gladly  recall  ? 
And  how  such  things  will  rankle  in  a  sensitive  memory,  some- 
times all  through  life.  An  unkind  act  will  place  a  thorn  in  the 
pillow,  which  only  sincere  penitence  and  long  suffering  can  re- 
move. What  though  one  may  have  suffered  from  kindness  un- 
worthily bestowed,  the  virtue  is  in  the  act,  not  in  the  abuse  of 
it.  If  the  memory  of  good  deeds  always  brings  happiness,  and 
of  evil  deeds  unhappiness,  are  we  not  cruel  to  ourselves  when- 
ever we  indulge  in  the  performance  of  the  latter? 

The  best  antidote  for  vice  and  crime  of  all  kinds  is  work, 
and  a  plenty  of  it.  If  the  young  man  who  delights  to  hang 
around  the  saloons,  or  dance  and.  dawdle  attendance  upon 
some  pretty  miss  with  a  pretty  hand,  and  nothing  to  do; — if 
the  young  woman  whose  head  is  "bequackled"  with  the  "fel- 
lows," and  who  thinks  of  nothing  but  dress,  and  her  many  ad- 
mirers— were  both  set  at  hard  work — the  former  at  some  good 
trade,  and  the  latter  at  good,  honest  housework,  or  at  some 
other  respectable  employment,  that  required  ten  good  hours  of 
their  time  every  day,  they  would  both,  in  the  coming  years,  be 
happier  and  wiser. 


* 
*  * 


How  like  the  refreshing  raindrops  upon  the  dry  and 
parched  earth,  or  the  soft  glow  of  the  summer  sun  that  falls 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  opening  flowers,  falls  the  warmth  and 
glow  of  a  kind  word  and  loving  thought  upon  the  tired  heart, 
hungry  for  sympathy  and  kindness.  How  very  easy  it  is  to 


96  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

make  one's  self  beloved  by  one's  neighbors  and  friends ;  and 
just  as  easy  to  make  one's  self  disliked.  People  who  succeed 
in  the  latter  respect  often  complain  of  what  they  alone  are 
wholly  responsible  for,  and  do  not  actually  know  it.  What  a 
grand  world  this  will  be  to  live  in  when  we  all  learn  to  practice 
the  Golden  Rule. 

NOT  THE  AUL  OF  LIFE. 


It  is  only  when  one's  spirit  soars  above  the  material  plane 
and  into  the  realm  of  soul,  that  he  really  learns  to  live.  It  is 
then  one  comes  to  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  things  of 
earth — wealth,  fame,  the  pursuits  of  trade,  and  all  that  pertains 
to  earthly  affairs — are  not  the  all  of  life ;  that  in  fact,  there  are 
spiritual  delights  infinitely  above  those  of  the  physical  senses, 
to  which  the  mere  worldling  is  a  stranger.  It  may  be  thought 
by  some  that  such  spiritual  unfoldment  or  exaltation  would  un- 
fit one  for  the  necessities  and  duties  of  life  on  the  earth  plane. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  especially  prepares  and  qualifies  one  for 
the  true  work  of  life  in  its  better  and  higher  sense.  It  makes 
one  reasonable  in  his  wants  and  desires,  and  takes  out  of  his 
nature  that  narrow  selfishness  that  would  exalt  one's  self  at  the 
expense  of  the  rights  and  needs  of  his  fellow  men.  Instead 
of  derogating  from  his  usefulness  as  a  citizen,  it  ennobles  him 
and  crowns  his  citizenship  with  the  glory  of  an  exalted  man- 
hood. 

We  should  build  our  characters  upon  the  Rock  of  Truth ; 
for  thereby  we  are  building  for  the  ages — for  eternity.  We 
surely  do  not  want  to  go  into  the  other  life  with  our  work  half 
done, — wholly  unprepared  for  the  change.  We  should  know 
something  of  the  place  whither  we  are  going,  and  what  we  shall 
expect  to  do  when  we  get  there.  And  especially  should  we 
know  what  kind  of  preparation  will  best  fit  us  for  the  new  life 
upon  which  we  all,  sooner  or  later,  must  enter.  We  should  not 


IT    DOKSN  T    PAY.  97 

encumber  our  spirits  with  any  useless  baggage.  If  we  are  wise  we 
will  cut  ourselves  loose,  and  leave  behind  us  all  weights  to  the 
spirit's  advancement.  And  we  cannot  begin  this  grand  work 
any  too  soon. 

IT  DOESN'T  FAY. 

It  doesn't  pay  to  thrust  spiritual  facts  upon  the  attention 
of  people  not  ready  to  receive  them.  We  only  get  ourselves 
suspected  of  lunacy,  and  accomplish  no  good.  There  is  a 
proper  time  and  a  place  for  all  things.  Wait  till  the  heart 
grows  tender  from  some  great  sorrow — till  death  has  taken 
away  some  loved  one — then  they  will  listen  to  you,  and  you 
can  tell  them  of  the  priceless  love  of  the  angels ;  that  death  is 
but  a  change  of  conditions,  and  that  the  way  has  been  opened 
for  communion  with  the  precious  one  whose  body  they  have 
laid  away  in  the  grave.  No  one  who  has  never  had  this 
experience  can  realize  the  wonderful  joy  that  the  knowledge  of 
spirit  communion  brings  to  the  stricken  heart.  Hope  and 
faith  in  the  promises  of  Christianity — even  the  firm  belief  in  a 
resurrection  to  life  everlasting,  and  a  home  in  the  fabled 
heaven  of  the  Church,  brings  no  comfort  like  this — the 
positive  knowledge  that  your  dear  one  lives,  and  comes  to 
gladden  your  heart  with  that  knowledge. 

The  young  woman  of  eighteen  and  young  man  of  twenty- 
one  who  haven't  yet  found  out  what  they  are  here  for,  have 
missed  their  reckoning  in  some  way  and  got  into  the  world  by 
mistake.  This  is  no  world  for  unsettled  people — for  people 
who  do  not  know  exactly  what  ails  them,  or  what  was  intended 
in  their  coming  here.  The  man  who  waits  for  circumstances 
to  adjust  themselves  to  his  convenience  stands  a  poor  show  in 
the  competitive  struggle  with  the  one  who  makes  his  own  c  ir- 
cumstances,  and  adjusts  himself  thereto,  seizing  the  opportun- 
ity, as  it  were,  before  it  is  born. 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 
WHENCE  AN13  WHITHER. 


Infinite  heights  of  being !  Beyond,  above  all  thought  of 
time  or  comprehension  of  soul  encased  in  matter !  Whence 
and  whither?  Onward  and  upward  forever,  through  such 
sweeps  of  space  and  time  as  stagger  thought  and  hold  in 
suspense  the  breath  of  infinite  being.  What  is  the  momentary 
sense  of  earth  life  compared  with  the  illimitable  beyond  ?  A 
heart-beat  to  the  life  of  the  sun — a  moment  to  an  eternity  of 
ages.  And  yet  we  live  here  as  though  this  were  the  all  of 
being — as  though  our  physical  needs  were  to  last  forever,  and 
the  heaps  of  rubbish  we  rake  together  were  to  benefit  us  in 
some  way  when  our  mortal  bodies  themselves  become  rubbish. 
Why  not  strike  out  for  something  higher  and  better  in  this  life 
by  making  each  moment  a  prophecy  of  the  higher  life  to  come. 


MEimiMSHIP  AM)  MORALITY. 


It  is  a  generally  accepted  fact  in  spiritual  circles  that 
mediumship  and  morality  are  in  nowise  related  to  each  other 
— that  a  good  medium  may  be  a  deplorably  dishonest  man  or 
woman.  And  this  is  one  of  the  stumbling  blocks  in  the  way 
of  the  advancement  of  our  Cause.  Why  it  is  that  good  spirits 
should  seek  to  return  to  earth  through  corrupt  channels,  is  a 
puzzling  problem.  That  they  do  so  is  beyond  question  ;  but 
that  they  would  prefer  to  communicate  through  honest  medi- 
ums is  also  no  doubt  true.  And  herein,  perhaps,  we  may  dis- 
cover the  key  to  the  solution  of  the  problem:  Mediumship  is 
a  physical  condition  wholly  depending  upon  a  certain  peculiar 
status  of  the  material  elements  of  the  body.  There  can  be 
no  dishonesty  in  matter.  Thus,  the  spirit  who  finds  the  way 
open,  comes,  without  any  thought  of  the  moral  qualities  of  the 
man  or  woman  whose  body  furnishes  the  way.  We  go  by  rail- 
road or  steamboat  to  visit  our  friends  in  a  distant  city,  but  do 
we  ever  stop  to  consider  the  moral  character  of  the  engineer 


THE  "KNOCK  DOWN"  ARGUMENT.         99- 

who  runs  the  train,  or  the  pilot  who  guides  the  vessel?  No- 
one  would  think  of  requiring  credentials  of  good  character 
from  the  postmaster  or  telegrapher  through  whom  one  would 
communicate  with  his  friends.  That  is-  probably  the  way  in 
which  spirits  look  upon  dishonest  mediums.  They  take  no- 
note  of  their  dishonesty,  so  long  as  the  message  goes  through 
to  its  destination  all  right. 

+  Q4- 

THE  "KNOCKDOWN"  ARGUMENT. 

You  cannot  win  souls  by  what  is  called  "Knock  down 
arguments."  You  may  antagonize  and  disgust,  but  you  cannot 
convince.  Our  teachers  and  speakers  should  ever  bear  this  in 
mind.  The  thought  that  goes  on  its  mission  barbed  and 
feathered  with  the  spirit  of  love  and  good-will,  will  cleave  its 
way  through  all  barriers  of  opposition  straight  to  the  heart ; 
while  the  same  thought,  sent  forth  in  a  harsh  and  uncharitable 
spirit,  will  simply  embitter  and  disgust.  There  are  those  who- 
delight  in  seeing  the  cherished  opinions  of  others  rudely  assailed,, 
who  would  repel  as  a  personal  insult,  any  rude  assault  upon 
their  own  cherished  opinions.  There  can  be  but  one  wise  rule 
of  human  action,  and  that  is  the  Golden  Rule. 

The  writer  is  thoroughly  satisfied  that  there  is  only  one 
way  whereby  man  can  be  led  to  the  truth — only  one  way  to- 
overcome  the  evil  in  human  lives,  and  bring  men  into  harmony 
with  the  Divine  Life — and  that  is  by  the  flower-strewn  path- 
way of  love.  Nor  abuse,  nor  ridicule,  nor  unkind  thoughts, 
will  accomplish  this.  "As  ye  sow  so  also  shall  ye  reap.'r 
If  you  would  make  an  undeveloped  man  hate  you  treat  him 
unkindly ;  if  you  would  make  a  religious  bigot  despise  you  rid- 
icule his  religion ;  if  you  \\ould  make  the  world  skeptical  of 
your  facts  as  Spiritualists,  and  wish  not  to  know  you,  throw 
mud  at  each  other,  and  bedaub  your  own  spirits  with  the  slime 
of  uncharitable  thoughts. 


TOO  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  higher  love  is  an  unselfish  love,  a  love  that  reaches 
out  far  beyond  the  confines  of  one's  immediate  kindred — a 
love  that  honors  all  life,  and  can  do  no  harm.  The  she  tiger 
will  die  for  her  cubs — could  a  human  mother  do  more?  Both 
are  governed  by  the  same  law  to  that  extent ;  but  beyond  that 
is  a  mighty  realm  of  love  whereof  the  brute  knows  nothing — a 
realm  of  eternal  growth  and  everlasting  delights.  It  is  only  the 
advanced  spirit — the  spirit  that  has  risen  superior  to  self — that 
has  learned  to  explore  this  higher  icalm. 


THINK  KINI>LY  OF  THE  ERRING. 


It  is  better  to  think  kindly  of  the  erring,  even  though 
they  may  persist  in  their  evil  ways,  than  unkindly  or  harshly. 
What  right  have  those  who  are  better  organized  and  educated 
than  their  less  fortunate  fellows  to  think  otherwise  than  kindly  ? 
Is  it  any  particular  credit  to  the  one,  or  discredit  to  the  other, 
that  they  are  what  they  are  ?  Is  the  fox  to  be  blamed  for  be- 
ing a  fox,  or  the  snake  for  being  a  snake  ?  Is  not  all  animal 
life — human  life  included — very  much  what  it  is  made  to  be  ? 
If  one,  by  virtue  of  better  birth,  and  a  better  developed  moral 
nature,  lives  wisely  and  righteously,  ought  not  the  fact  of  the 
possession  of  these  superior  qualities  to  fill  his  soul  with  ten- 
der sympathy  towards  all  who  are  not  thus  favored  ?  We  can- 
not avoid  the  responsibility  of  a  common  brotherhood  of  the 
race,  even  though  some  of  the  family  are  not  what  they  should  be. 


Whoever  harbors  an  evil  thought  entertains  a  burglar  and 
.a  thief — one  who  is  sure  to  rob  him  in  the  end.  To  give  ex- 
pression to  such  a  thought  is  to  invite  evil  to  one's  self — is  in- 
deed to  become  evil.  There  is  only  one  line  of  life  to  pursue 
to  obtain  true  happiness,  and  that  is  the  straight  and  narrow 
way  of  Good  WTill — to  think  kindly  and  act  kindly  towards  all. 
Whoever  departs  from  this  way  only  prolongs  the  journey  be- 


A    SUBLIMK    FALLACY.  IOI 

fore  him.  It  is  as  though  one  should  leave  the  beaten  path 
while  journeying  through  a  dense  forest.  The  result  would  be 
garments  and  flesh  torn  with  briars  and  thorns,  and  no  great 
"headway  made. 

A   SI  HT.TME  FALLACY. 

"  The  world  owes  me  a  living,"  says  one,  not  over-indus- 
trious or  thrifty.  It  does,  does  it  ?  Now,  it  owes  you  nothing 
that  you  do  not  earn  by  honest  labor  with  head  or  hands. 
What  right  have  you  to  eat  the  bread  of  idleness,  earned  by 
others'  labor,  and  claim  that  the  world  owes  it  to  you  ?  Did  it 
never  occur  to  you  that  not  even  the  elements  of  your  physi- 
cal body — the  lime  in  your  bones,  or  the  iron  in  your  blood, 
are  your  property.  They  have  only  been  loaned  to  you  for  a 
while  by  Mother  Nature  to  enable  you  the  better  to  obtain  the 
•experiences  that  your  spirit  stands  in  need  of.  You  will  have 
to  deliver  them  up  some  day,  when  your  spirit  takes  its  depart- 
ure out  and  into  the  Beyond  ;  you  wrill  not  be  allowed  to  take 
with  you  a  single  atom.  Don't  make  that  dear  old  Mother 
ashamed  of  herself  that  she  ever  loaned  you  the  ingredients  for 
a  man,  and  you  made  a  worthless  mess  of  it  !  Don't  make 
her  feel  sad  to  think,  when  you  pass  on,  that  she  will  get  back 
her  raw  material  for  a  man,  and  nothing  more. 

We  shall  never  find  any  better  heaven  than  that  we  carry 
around  with  us  in  our  hearts.  He  who  takes  his  own  life  to 
escape  from  trouble  commits  a  stupendous  folly.  If  he  would 
get  his  spirit  into  harmony  with  the  divine  law  of  being,  root 
out  all  evil  and  set  up  the  throne  of  righteousness  in  himself, 
he  would  never  do  so  unwise  a  thing,  but  would  patiently 
endure  all  the  ills  of  life  to  the  end.  And  yet  in  the  light  (or 
darkness  rather)  of  materialism,  suicide  is  a  natural  and  reason- 
ble  escape  from  trouble.  Ignorance  of  the  consequences  of 
he  act  will  not  atone  for  the  mistake. 


102  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Perfection  is  found  nowhere — all  humanity  is  struggling 
up  the  heights,  even  though  some  portion  of  it  may  seem  to- 
be  slipping  backward.  But  it  is  with  the  latter  only  to  get 
another  and  better  start — if  not  in  this  life,  then,  perhaps,  in 
the  next.  Man  has  come  up  out  of  an  infinite  past,  and  he  has 
an  infinite  future  before  him.  The  present  is  his  opportunity 
of  growth  and  unfoldment.  If  he  is  wise,  he  will  improve  it  tx> 
the  utmost.  The  golden  hours  of  this  mortal  day  are  swiftly 
speeding  by.  Behold  the  night  cometh  ! 

VENERATION. 


The  Materialist  may  ridicule  the  idea  of  veneration  for, 
and  worship  of  a  Supreme  Being,  but  can  he  do  so  except  at 
the  expense  of  his  spiritual  nature  ?  The  ox  that  grazes  the 
field,  and  the  swine  that  feeds  upon  the  acorn,  have  no 
thought  of  the  whence  their  maintenance  comes,  or  the  where- 
fore of  their  existence.  Shall  man  imitate  the  swine  and  the 
ox  in  this  respect,  and  glory  therein?  Shall  he  take  delight  in 
the  thought  that  he  is  superior  to  the  brute  only  in  an  intellect- 
ual sense?  Would  you  build  an  arch  and  leave  out  the  key- 
stone ?  Would  you  create  an  angel  without  the  unfoldment  of 
the  higher  spiritual  faculties,  whereof  reverence  for  the  Infinite 
Something  we  name  God  is  the  chiefest  ?  In  the  light  of  true 
spirituality  what  a  puny,  insignificant  thing  is  man  !  How  it 
becomes  him  to  lay  aside  all  vanity  and  pride — all  sense  of  his- 
own  importance — and  walk  humbly  as  he  grows  into  a  better 
and  truer  manhood.  In  no  other  spirit  is  it  possible  for  him 
to  grow. 

+nH- 

-*-*-'+ 

Come  up  higher,  brother,  sister — up  and  out  from  the 
mists  and  shadows  of  the  valley — from  the  realm  of  unworthy 
thoughts  and  things — into  the  pure  air  and  bright  sunshine 
of  God's  eternal  highlands.  There,  and  there  only,  is  peace, 
strength  and  lasting  happiness. 


IS    SPIRITUALISM    A         S(iWc&.v  -  103 


IS  SPIRITUALISM  A 


Is  Spiritualism  a  religion  ?  That  depends  upon  how  we 
take  it  and  what  it  stands  for  with  us.  If  we  regard  it  simply 
as  a  demonstrated  fact  of  nature,  there  can  be  nothing  of  what 
is  understood  to  be  religion  in  it.  But  if  it  means  the  bring- 
ing of  the  human  spirit  into  harmony  with  the  Divine  Spirit, 
reacting  upon  the  former  in  the  unfoldment  of  all  that  is  true 
and  beautiful,  and  leading  it  onward  and  upward,  into  a  better 
way  of  life,  then  is  it  indeed  a  religion  in  the  highest  sense. 
Man,  as  a  spiritual,  but  not  as  an  intellectual  being,  needs  and 
must  have  a  religion  of  some  kind.  Why  may  he  not,  as  a 
Spiritualist,  make  his  Spiritualism  broad  enough  to  embrace  all 
that  his  nature  may  require  of  religion  ?  He  needs  no  vica- 
rious atonement,  no  ecclesiasticism  of  any  kind,  but  only  to 
conform  his  life  to  the  simple  rules  of  right  living  taught  by  all 
advanced  spirits.  That  is  the  best  and  truest  religion.  "  To 
do  good  is  my  religion,"  said  Thomas  Fame.  Can  there  be 
any  better  religion  than  this? 

4-O-t-     ' 
EMERGING  INTO  THE  LIGHT. 

From  what  a  night  of  theological  darkness  the  world  is 
emerging  !  From  the  cruel,  heart-crushing  Calvinism  of  a  half 
century  ago,  with  its  stern,  revengeful,  awful  Being  of  infinite  wrath 
and  hate,  who  for  his  glory  consigned  all  but  a  small  portion 
of  the  human  race  to  everlasting  torment,  to  the  gentle,  loving 
Father,  leading  his  children  by  ways  they  may  not  know  into 
the  light  and  likeness  of  himself.  Although  lacking  the  moral 
courage  to  modify  their  written  creeds,  which  not  one  in  ten 
actually  believes,  there  is  scarcely  an  intelligent  clergyman  in 
the  evangelical  churches  to-day  who  pretends  to  preach  or  teach 
the  doctrines  of  the  church  as  taught  fifty  years  ago.  A  few 
years  hence  they  will  be  compelled  to  make  an  entire  new 
statement  of  dogma  or  preach  to  empty  pews. 


104  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

FOR  WHAT  PURPOSE. 


If  a  man  has  not  a  religious  side  to  his  nature,  for  what  pur- 
pose was  the  organ  of  veneration  placed  in  the  brain  ?  Phren- 
ology teaches  us  that  the  frontal  brain  of  man  contains  the 
organs  of  the  intellect,  the  back  brain  those  of  the  animal  pro- 
pensities, while  the  dome,  or  center  of  the  arch,  is  the  region 
of  the  spiritual  faculties — veneration,  hope,  reverence,  benevo- 
lence, etc.  If  there  were  no  Supreme  Intelligence — nothing 
in  the  universe  worthy  of  adoration  or  worship,  why  were  these 
faculties  placed  in  the  human  brain  ?  Admit  that  the  universe 
is  governed  by  law,  has  law  intelligence  ?  Can  it  design  the 
pattern  of  a  butterfly's  wing  ?  Can  it  plan  a  human  eye  or  ear? 
Say,  if  you  please,  that  this  Mighty  Mystery  which  we  call  God 
recedes  as  science  advances,  still  there  must  ever  be  an  infinite 
realm  where  science  can  never  penetrate — a  realm  of  the  Un~ 
known  and  the  Unknowable — a  something  behind  and  before, 
and  interblending  with  law,  that  is  superior  to  law.  Why 
ignore  this  thought,  O  Materialist !  Is  it  not  written  in  letters 
of  living  light  in  the  constitution  of  man  ? 


One  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  "  gift  of  the  spirit  "  is  that  of 
being  able  to  sense  the  spiritual  status  of  those  with  whom  one 
comes  in  contact.  He  reads  his  fellow-beings,  whenever  he 
chooses  to  do  so,  as  from  an  open  book.  He  cannot  tell  you 
how  or  why,  but  he  knows,  and  that  knowledge  is  almost  in- 
fallible. In  the  higher  unfoldment  of  this  wonderful  faculty 
one  may  ever  know  in  whom  to  put  his  trust.  Armed  with  this 
power  how  many  of  "  the  rocks  and  shoals  of  time  "  may  be 

avoided. 

t 
*  * 

It  is  only  when  one  comes  to  know  and  accept  the  fact 
of  the  psychic  form  manifestation  that  he  is  qualified  or  pre- 
pared to  judge  justly  or  wisely  of  this  phase  of  mediumship. 
Until  he  can  disabuse  his  mind  of  all  unjust  suspicion,  and 


TEACHINGS    OF    JESUS.  105 

enter  upon  the  investigation  of  -the  subject  with  a  gentle,  rever- 
ent  and  loving  spirit,  the  forms  of  his  spirit  friends  will  not, 
indeed  they  can  not,  come  to  him,  if  at  all,  with  any  degree  of 
positiveness.  But  once  the  way  is  broken,  communion  with 
the  spirit  world  becomes  a  beautiful  and  ennobling  fellowship, 
lifting  the  thoughts  and  aspirations  into  all  goodness. 


TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS. 

What  is  there  in  the  simple  teachings  of  Jesus,  as  set 
forth  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  in  his  re -affirmation  of 
the  pagan  doctrine  of  the  Golden  Rule,  to  warrant  the  pomp 
and  mummery  witnessed  in  the  name  of  Christianity  to-day  ? 
What  is  there  in  his  simple  statement  of  immortal  principles  to 
justify  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  and  Confessions  of  Faith,  held 
in  some  form  by  all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church,  from 
Rome  to  the  Seventh  Day  Adventists  ?  Is  it  not  apparent  to 
all  thoughtful  minds  that  the  whole  machinery  of  ecclesiasticism 
is  a  cunning  devise  of  men  intended  to  befog  the  minds  of  the 
people  the  better  to  command  their  consciences  ?  The  simple 
gospel  of  Jesus  was  free  from  all  these  strange  devices.  It  was 
not  until  centuries  after  the  death  of  the  Nazarene  that  this 
fungus  growth  appeared  upon  the  body  of  true  Christianity, 
where  it  has  remained  ever  since  to  obstruct  the  Way. 


Ignorance  is  the  cause  of  all  discord.  Those  who  know 
the  truth  should  be  patient  and  charitable  with  those  who  do 
not,  ever  remembering  that  they  themselves  were  once  in  dark- 
ness and  saw  not  the  light. 

*  * 

Don't  waste  your  time  trying  to  find  the  heart  of  a  man 
or  a  woman  who  doesn't  love  children.  There  isn't  enough  of 
it  to  bother  with  when  found.  Wait  till  it  grows,  unless  you 
can  help  it  to  grow*  which  is  better  still. 


IO6  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

RELIGION  OF  LOVE. 

The  religion  of  love,  of  kind  thoughts,  of  unselfish  charity, 
of  generous  acts — this  is  all  there  is  of  it  of  any  worth  to  the 
world.  All  else  is  useless  rubbish.  We  pay  vast  sums  of 
money  for  costly  church  edifices  that  are  unoccupied  six  days 
out  of  seven,  and  vainly  imagine  that  we  are  serving  God 
thereby.  There  is  no  religion  in  that.  Far  better  had  we 
used  the  money  to  establish  homes  for  the  poor,  or  co-operative 
farms,  shops  and  factories,  where  the  humble  toiler  could  be 
relieved  of  the  fierce  struggle  for  bread  he  is  now  compelled  to 
endure.  The  strong  will  dominate  the  weak  just  so  long  as 
competition  in  the  necessary  work  of  the  world  endures.  Give 
us  the  religion  of  good  deeds,  the  religion  of  love,  of  temperance 
and  charity,  and  the  church  may  have  its  robes  and  mitres,  its 
swinging  censors,  its  catechisms,  prayer-books  and  beads,  its 
high  steeples  and  higher  priced  ministers.  We  believe  in 
bringing  heaven  down  into  this  life,  and  not  in  leading  man 
through  a  maze  of  superstitious  obscurity  in  the  hope  that  we 
may  find  it  in  the  next. 

Envy  and  Jealously  are  the  two  demons  that  sit  on  either 
hand  at  the  gateway  of  men's  souls,  where  they  feed  and  thrive 
on  the  moral  garbage  from  within.  They  are  never  seen  where 
love  abides  in  the  soul,  or  where  the  spirit  has  grown  into  the 
likeness  of  the  All  Good.  They  are  ungainly  monsters,  whose 
presence  is  always  odious,  and  whose  breath  is  malaria  and 

death. 

* 
*  * 

The  Spiritualism  that  would  under-estimate  the  importance 
of  phenomena  in  the  dissemination  of  our  spiritual  gospel,  is 
quite  as  erratic  as  that  which  lives  wholly  upon  phenomena. 
First  the  foundation  (the  phenomena),  and  then  the  super- 
structure (the  religion  and  philosophy).  Each  is  essential  to 
the  other. 


SKIMMING    THE    SURFACE.  1 07 

SKIMMING  THE  SURFACE. 

If  we  would  get  out  of  Spiritualism  its  purest  joys  and 
sweetest  delights,  we  must  bring  its  higher  teachings  home  to 
our  hearts,  and  practice  them  in  our  daily  walk  and  conduct 
There  are  heights  upon  heights,  and  depths  upon  depths,  in 
our  beautiful  philosophy,  that  many  a  believer  in  our  facts 
hasn't  the  slightest  idea  of.  He  skims  the  surface  of  Spiritual- 
ism without  turning  his  gaze  to  the  star-gemmed  vault  above, 
or  ever  sending  a  thought  down  into  its  crystal  depths  below. 
The  truly  spiritual  soul  drinks  in  those  heavenly  joys  until  his 
or  her  countenance  (for  it  is  woman  more  often  that  enjoys  this 
divine  beatitude)  shines  as  with  the  light  of  heaven.  There 
can  be  no  better  Christian,  no  better  Pagan  or  Jew,  no  better 
man  or  angel  than  the  true  Spiritualist. 


In  presenting  our  spiritual  facts  and  philosophy  to  the 
world,  we  must,  to  create  a  lively  demand,  show  we  have  a 
better  article  of  goods  than  are  offered  by  our  neighbors  ;  and 
this  we  can  not  do  by  crying  down  their  wares,  but  by  estab- 
lishing the  superiority  of  our  own.  If  our  lecturers,  writers, 
and  contemporaries  of  the  spiritual  press,  would  but  act  upon 
this  suggestion — if  they  would  seek  for  more  of  the  spiritual  in 
their  own  natures,  and  strive  to  excel  each  other  in  the  exercise 
of  all  that  conduces  to  nobility  of  character  and  true  manliness, 
what  a  mighty  impetus  would  it  not  give  to  our  cause. 


* 
* 


We  wonder  what  our  Adventist  friends  would  have  to  say 
of  the  little  four-year-old  boy  who,  waking  from  his  sleep  one 
night,  while  his  baby  sister,  lying  in  a  crib  near  by,  surrounded 
by  anxious  friends,  was  passing  away,  rose  up  in  his  bed 
exclaiming,  "O,  mamma,  mamma,  see  the  pretty  ladies!  they 
are  taking  baby  away ! "  an  account  of  which  appeared  in  a 
recent  issue  of  the  GOLDEN  GATE.  Would  they  say  that  the 
Lord  had  sent  this  delusion  to  that  little  child? — that  there  were 


I08  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

no  "pretty  ladies"  there? — that  the  baby  had  no  spirit  separate 
from  its  body  to  be  taken  away,  and  that  what  seemed  so  was 
the  work  of  Satan  ? 

Many  a  man  in  this  world  begins  to  die  before  he  is  one- 
half  grown.  Instead  of  pushing  onward  and  upward,  as  he 
should,  gaining  in  wisdom  and  knowledge  with  his  years,  and 
evolving  the  grand  possibilities  of  his  nature,  he  reaches  a 
point  of  stupid  mediocrity,  and  there  he  stops  and  stagnates ; 
and  when  he  should  be  ripe  and  beautiful  in  soul  he  is  found- 
to  be  fossilized  and  covered  with  moss. 

*  * 

Age  does  not  belong  to  the  spirit.  We  have  a  jolly  friend,, 
now  in  his  ninety-fourth  year,  whose  heart  is  as  young  as  ever 
it  was,  with  all  the  added  wisdom  and  beauty  that  years  are 
supposed  to  bring.  The  moss  and  barnacles  of  mental  and 
spiritual  inaction  have  never  stuck  to  him.  The  fact  is  he  has 
never  found  time  to  stop  growing,  and  never  will,  through  all 
the  countless  ages  of  eternity. 

What  an  empty  bauble  is  fashionable  society  life.  To  live 
to  dress,  to  shine,  to  flutter  butterfly  wings  in  the  sunshine  of 
worldly  advantage,  with  never  a  heart-beat  for  the  sorrow^  and 
suffering  of  others,  for  the  overburdened  lives,  for  the  "  spirits 
in  prison, "for  the  sin-sick,  for  the  souls  struggling  for  the  light, — 
ah  !  is  not  this  to  live  the  life  of  utter  misuse  and  worthlessness  ! 
Better  far  a  daily  struggle  for  bread,  with  longings  all  unsatisfied, 
if  but  the  spirit  be  kept  sweet  and  tender,  and  the  affections  and 
sympathies  pure. 

*  # 

If,  in  the  light  of  the  truly  developed  spirit,  we  could  look 
out  upon  the  wrorld  of  humanity  writh  all  its '  imperfections  and 
undeveloped  conditions — if  we  could  see  and  understand  the 
marvelous  springs  of  action,  the  secret  workings  and  motives 
that  dominate  human  action — as  we  shall  sometime, — what  a 


CHRONIC    FAULT    FINDING.  109 

tidal  wave  of  sympathy  for  our  erring  fellow  beings  would  sweep 
over  our  souls.  How  little  we  know  the  harm  we  do  to  the 
erring  one,  also  to  ourselves,  when  we  harshly  condemn.  It 
would  humble  us  all  in  our  own  conceit,  if  we  knew  as  we  are 
known. 


CHRONIC  FAULT  FINDING. 


Chronic  fault-finding  with  the  shortcomings  of  other  reli- 
gious systems  is  not  the  way  to  advance  the  cause  of  Spiritual- 
ism. We  must  show  to  the  world  that  we  have  something 
more  natural  and  philosophical  than  the  old  religious  beliefs — 
something  better  to  live  by — something  that,  properly  directed, 
calls  into  livelier  action  all  the  innate  goodness  of  the  unde- 
veloped nature.  Look,  ye  railers  against  the  church,  at  the 
broad  charities  of  the  Christian  world — its  great  universities, 
its  vast  missionary  systems,  its  splendid  churches,  its  asylums, 
publishing  houses,  kindergartens,  and  other  mighty  efforts  for 
the  uplifting  of  humanity,  and  then  consider  what  Spiritualism 
is  doing  in  like  directions  !  Modesty  should  make  us  pause 
and  reflect.  In  the  infancy  of  this  new  revelation  to  the 
world,  ere  we  have  "won  our  spurs,"  we  should  be  less  aggres- 
sive toward  other  systems,  and  more  zealous  to  impress  upon 
the  thought  of  the  world  the  merits  of  our  cause. 


It  is  said  that  no  man  is  wholly  sane  ;  that  is,  each  indi- 
vidual has  some  quirk  or  hobby  not  common  with  the  rest 
Indeed,  a  perfectly  balanced  mind — one  equally  developed  in 
all  directions  of  its  nature — is  something  that  does  not  exist. 
It  is,  perhaps,  well  that  it  does  not,  for  therein  only  is  found 
excellence.  This  would  be  a  very  tame  world,  a  world  of 
monotonous  mediocrity,  but  for  the  exceptional  insanity  of 
some — or  rather,  the  disposition  of  some  to  an  abnormal  de- 
velopment in  special  directions,  which  is  but  another  name  for 
insanity.  It  is  only  when  this  tendency  becomes  violent  and 
hurtful  that  society  finds  it  necessary  to  interpose  restraints. 


IIO  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

EYES  TO  THE  FRONT. 


All  religions  have  been  the  outgrowth  of  the  civilization 
of  the  age  in  which  they  existed  ;  and,  if  not  the  best  products 
of  their  age,  it  was  due  to  the  undeveloped  condition  of  the 
human  race.  Thus,  to  quarrel  with  the  old  systems  is  childish. 
One  might  as  well  find  fault  with  his  anthropoid  ancestor  for 
being  an  ape,  or  with  his  mother  for  having  red  hair.  The 
•question  should  not  be,  What  of  the  religions  of  the  past  ?  but 
What  shall  be  religion  of  the  future  ?  That  is  something  for 
the  present  race  to  determine.  The  intolerance,  cruelty,  mis- 
conceptions of  God,  and  persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  of  the 
past,  are  all  beyond  our  reach  ;  they  have  gone  into  history 
and  cannot  be  changed.  With  eyes  to  the  front,  we  should 
move  forward  in  the  pathway  of  progress,  leaving  the  dead  past 

to  bury  its  dead. 

•»  •  *• 

SECRET  SPRINGS  OF  POWER. 

Did  it  never  occur  to  you,  dear  reader,  that  power,  wisely 
•exercised,  is  the  greatest  of  harmonizers?  Now,  property  is  one 
of  the  secret  springs  of  power,  and  perhaps  the  most  potent 
one.  Take  the  cohesive  element  of  property — of  church 
edifices,  universities,  book  concerns,  etc., — away  from  any  of 
the  religious  sects,  and  what  weight  of  influence  would  they 
have  in  the  world?  They  agree  because  they  can  not  well 
afford  to  disagree.  Spiritualists,  having  none  of  this  unifying 
-element,  agree  to  little  or  nothing,  and  that  in  so  weak  a  way 
as  to  carry  no  weight  with  it.  Give  to  the  Cause  fine  temples 
erected  for  spiritual  uses,  with  assembly  and  seance  rooms,  free 
library  and  reading  rooms,  a  book  depository  and  a  live  press, 
and  a  change  like  a  new  creation  would  come  over  the  now 
somewhat  chaotic  elements  of  Spiritualism. 


We  do  not  agree  with  Chas.  Dawbarn  that  morality  is  all 
there   is   either  in  Christianity  or   Spiritualism  that  is  of  any 


MOVING    FORWARD.  II  j 

value;  neither  do  we  believe  with  him  that  there  can  be  any 
religion  without  morality.  An  observance  of  the  forms  of 
Christianity  or  religion,  merely,  is  not  religion  ;  neither  is  the 
mere  acceptance  of  the  facts  of  Spiritualism  religion.  There 
is  something  more  than  morality,  something  broader  and  deep- 
er— an  exercise  of  the  higher  spiritual  faculties — reverence, 
aspiration,  love,  devotion — that  constitutes  what  we  term  re- 
ligion. And  this  is  the  true  gospel  of  Spiritualism,  as  it  is  of 
Christianity.  It  is  the  heart  of  all  systems  of  religious  belief. 


MOVING  FORWAKI>. 


The  spirit  world  is  ever  moving  forward  to  a  purpose.  It 
takes  no  note  of  the  things  which  do  most  disturb  the  serenity 
of  mortal  minds,  in  the  presentation  of  spiritual  truths ;  but 
presses  into  its  service  all  who  are  able  to  bear  arms — that  is, 
all  who  can  be  used  to  bring  its  grand  truths  before  the  world 
of  humanity.  Its  ministers  and  evangels  may  fall  by  the  way- 
side, or  follow  the  tempter  of  lust  or  gold  into  unbidden  ways, 
and  straightway  it  finds  new  recruits  among  young  and  old,  in 
quiet  Christian  homes,  in  the  abodes  of  skeptics  and  unbe- 
lievers, and  the  good  work  goes  onward,  ever  onward,  to  the 
glorious  end  of  man's  spiritual  unfoldment,  and  the  conscious 
interblending  of  the  two  worlds.  Spiritualism  has  a  stronger 
hold  upon  the  world  to-day  than  ever  before. 

We  are  weary  of  this  everlasting  mouthing  of  the  foolish 
conceit  we  so  often  hear,  that  "  I  am  holier  than  thou."  There 
are  those  who  are  so  pure  and  lovely — in  their  own  eyes — so 
far  above  their  neighbors  in  moral  excellence,  that  one  natur- 
ally wonders  how  they  manage  to  hold  themselves  down  to 
earth.  It  would  seem  that  they  ought  to  be  soaring  in  em- 
pyreal ether,  with  a  pair  of  back-action,  triple-jointed  wings, 
leaving  a  streak  of  condensed  glory  in  their  wake.  They  are 
all  too  pure  for  earth. 


112  SPIRITUAL     FRAGMENTS. 

If  a  rich  man,  dying,  bestows  his  wealth  upon  some 
church,  or  for  the  endowment  of  some  theological  seminary, 
or  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  heathen — if  he  even  leaves  a 
large  sum  for  the  senseless  mummery  of  masses  for  the  repose 
of  his  soul — he  is  a  noble  philanthropist ;  but  if,  being  a 
Spiritualist,  he  bequeathes  his  property  for  the  promotion  of 
the  cause  of  Spiritualism,  he  is  insane  !  No  matter  how  level- 
headed he  may  be  upon  all  other  subjects,  his  heirs  immedi- 
ately set  about  the  task  of  proving  him  non  compus  mentis  in 
the  matter  of  disposing  of  his  own ;  and  judicial  owls  upon 
the  bench  and  before  the  bar  blink  stupid  assent  to  the  propo- 
sition. It  will  not  always  be  thus. 

* 
*  * 

There  are  many  of  the  brightest  minds  in  the  lands— 
judges,  journalists,  politicians,  poets,  statesmen — who  accept 
the  facts  upon  which  Spiritualists  base  their  knowledge  of  a 
future  life,  and  some  of  whom  do  not  hesitate  to  acknowledge, 
in  private,  their  belief  in  the  philosophy  of  Spiritualism,  but 
who  are  not  classed  as  Spiritualists.  They  do  not  choose  to 
pin  their  faith  upon  their  sleeve,  and  it  is  not  at  all  important, 
or  necessary,  that  they  should.  They  are  doing  a  good  work 
in  a  quiet  way,  among  people  whom,  as  out  and  out  Spiritual- 
ists, they  could  not  reach.  Truth  does  not  always  require 
martyrdom  of  its  votaries.  There  is  sound  wisdom,  sometimes, 
in  the  exercise  of  a  little  policy. 


* 
*  * 


When  some  weak  medium  yields  to  temptation  and  goes 
astray,  straightway  the  pharisees  of  the  religious  press,  and  the 
time  servers  and  quidnuncs  of  the  political,  immediately  ele- 
vate their  muzzles,  and  howl  in  lugubrious  concert.  Just  as 
though  sin  was  any  blacker,  or  wickedness  more  reprehensible, 
when  practiced  by  a  Spiritualist  than  by  an  orthodox  minister. 
Why  can't  men  be  honest  and  just,  if  they  do  think  differently 
on  religious  questions  ? 


THE     SUCCESSFUL    MAN.  113 

THE  SUCCESSFUL  MAN. 


Who  is  the  successful  man?  Is  it  the  one  with  title-deeds 
to  vast  estates,  with  a  large  rent-roll  and  plethoric  bank  ac- 
count ?  Or  is  it  the  man  who  has  stored  his  mind  with  useful 
knowledge,  and  brought  his  spirit  under  the  dominion  of  wis- 
dom, love  and  truth  ?  That  life  is  the  greatest  success  whose 
possessions  afford  the  highest  degree  of  happiness,  and  endure 
the  longest.  What  is  the  brief  span  of  human  existence  as 
compared  with  eternity — a  drop  of  water  to  the  ocean,  an 
atom  to  the  universe.  Earthly  possessions  perish  with  our 
capacity  to  enjoy  them  ;  and  we  cannot  surely  enjoy  them 
when  we  cease  to  control  them;  or,  rather,  when  we  pass  be- 
yond the  conditions  of  earth  wherein  they  alone  exist.  Look 
back  over  the  lives  of  men — was  Nero  a  more  successful  man 
than  old  John  Brown,  or  William  Sharon  than  the  humblest 
toiler  who  labors  faithfully  to  support  his  family  and  train  up 
his  children  in  ways  of  virtue  and  usefulness? 

"  It  is  all  the  world  to  me,  the  comfort  I  derive  from  my 
knowledge  of  a  future  life,  and  from  my  communion  with  my 
spirit  friends,"  remarked  a  worthy  lady  to  us  the  other  day. 
This  is  the  common  experience  of  all  who  have  entered  the 
inner  temple  of  our  beautiful  religion  and  have  learned  the 
better  way  of  life.  There  is  something  in  Spiritualism  infinitely 
higher  and  better  than  a  mere  belief  in  its  phenomenal  facts, — 
and  that  is  its  religion.  Until  one  experiences  this  religion  he 
knows  but  very  little  of  the  real  comfort,  and  serene  satisfac- 
tion that  may  be  derived  from  a  knowledge  of  spiritual  things. 

* 
*  * 

How  barren  and  empty  must  seem  the  bauble  of  wealth 
or  worldly  fame  to  the  spirit  just  awakened  to  consciousness 
upon  the  other  shore.  If  the  opportunities  wealth  affords  for 
blessing  the  world  have  been  neglected,  then  how  doubly 
barren,  and  even  harmful,  it  must  appear. 


H4  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

WHAT  WE  NEED. 


It  is  not  what  one  really  needs,  but  in  what  one  thinks  he 
needs,  and  cannot  have,  that  consists  the  inharmonies  and 
miseries  of  existence.  If  we  could  only  school  our  spirits  to  be 
content  with  but  few  of  the  perishable  treasures  of  earth, 
while  ever  seeking  and  aspiring  for  those  riches  of  the  spirit 
that  endure  forever,  we  should  find  a  happiness  and  joy  of 
which  most  of  us  but  little  dream.  Man  commits  a  terrible 
mistake  in  imagining  that  wealth,  or  fame,  or  worldly  advantages 
of  any  kind,  are  essential  to  his  true  happiness.  For  do  they 
not  all  fade  away?  And  does  not  man  himself,  in  time,  come 
to  regard  them  with  utter  indifference — that  is,  when  the  cold 
waves  of  dissolution  break  at  his  feet?  There  is  no  wealth 
like  that  of  a  soul  rich  in  the  graces  of  goodness. 

My  friend  comes  to  me  from  the  spirit  side  of  life;  he 
writes  me  a  loving  message  between  closed  slates  held  in  my 
own  hand,  and  signs  his  name  in  his  old  familiar  way ;  he 
entrances  some  medium  and  recalls  familiar  scenes,  and  awakens 
old  memories,  known  only  to  us  two;  some  clairvoyant  sees 
and  describes  him  accurately ;  he  controls  the  elements  and 
temporarily  presents  himself  to  me  in  tangible  form,  and  I  look 
into  his  face,  and  know  of  a  verity  that  it  is  his  own  living  self. 
"But  that  is  not  your  friend,"  my  Seventh  Day  Adventist 
brother  presumes  to  tell  me.  Then  who  is  it  pray?  "  It  is  the 
Devil  !"  The  Devil  it  is !  God  pity  us  for  our  ignorance  ! 


What  a  dull,  leaden  thought  is  involved  in  the  sad  refrain, 
"It  might  have  been."  Ah,  friends,  there  are  fierce  torments, 
raging  hells  untold,  in  spirit  life — conditions  which  one  would 
gladly  exchange  for  annihilation,  and  from  which  there  is  no 
escape  except  by  honest  repentance  and  earnest  endeavor. 
There  is  no  one  in  the  universe  upon  whose  shoulders  one  can 
shift  the  burden  of  his  own  sins. 


WORRYING    GOD    WITH    ADVICE.  I  I  5 

WORRYING  GOD  WITH  ADVIC1L. 


We  are  tired  of  that  kind  of  religion  that  is  perpetually 
worrying  God  with  advice  and  coaxing  him  for  favors.  How 
often  have  we  heard  some  wealthy  and  devout  but  stingy 
Christian,  with  his  cribs  full  of  corn,  praying  God  to  "remember 
the  poor,"  when  the  thought  of  remembering  them  himself  was 
the  last  thing  that  would  ever  enter  his  mind.  And  then  again, 
how  some  people  are  perpetually  worrying  about  the  sins  of 
their  neighbors,  while  their  own  paths  are  beset  with  duties 
undone.  The  main  and  first  question  with  each  child  of 
humanity  is  to  bring  himself  into  harmony  with  the  true  life, 
and  not  undertake  to  manage  the  entire  universe,  at  least  not 
until  he  has  had  more  experience.  He  will  generally  have  all 
he  can  attend  to  to  manage  himself,  if  he  does  the  work  wisely. 

A  grave  mistake,  which  even  Spiritualists  are  slow  to 
recognize,  is  the  fact  that  spirits  are  by  no  means  infallible,  but 
are  wise  and  otherwise,  just  like  mortals.  They  may  have 
opportunities  for  knowing  many  things  that  mortals  do  not ;  in 
act  they  may  possess,  as  doubtless  many  of  them  do,  wisdom 
vastly  superior  to  our  own,  and  yet  they  are  only  fallible,  with 
all  a  finite  being's  tendency  to  err.  How  often  have  we  heard 
spirits  questioned  in  matters  that  only  a  being  of  infinite 
intelligence  could  answer,  and  the  questioner  would  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  his  spirit  friends  were  only  human  after  all. 

How  the  vain  and  perishable  things  of  this  life — wealth ,. 
position,  fame — all  dwindle  into  utter  insignificance  as  compared 
with  the  unfading  treasures  of  the  immortal  spirit.  We  brought 
nothing  into  this  world  but  a  little  pink  lump  of  clay ;  that 
which  we  take  out  is  of  no  more  value  than  dust.  All  that  we 
are,  and  all  that  we  can  possess  forevermore  must  be  of  the 
spirit.  How  are  we  off  for  that?  is  a  question  we  should 
consider  just  now. 


I  10  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

With  what  marvelous  precision  and  wisdom  is  the  machin- 
ery of  the  universe  managed  and  run  !  In  the  mighty  sweep 
around  the  sun  of  the  most  distant  planet  of  our  solar  system, 
•extending  through  years  of  our  time,  each  revolution  is  the 
same  in  duration  as  every  other  revolution,  though  centuries 
apart,  even  to  the  fraction  of  a  second.  The  same  is  true  of 
all  suns  and  systems,  for  all  are  sweeping  onward  in  vast  cir- 
cles, all  held  and  governed  by  the  same  unchanging  law.  In 
view  of  such  inconceivable  grandeur,  well  may  the  Psalmist 

exclaim,  "  What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ! " 

# 

How  our  cold-blooded  competitive  system  of  labor,  with 
each  man  on  a  perpetual  tension  of  ingenuity  to  out-trade  and 
circumvent  his  neighbor,  hardens  our  poor  human  nature,  and 
•dries  up  its  springs  of  charity  and  humanity.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  men  become  indifferent  to  the  needs  of  the  suffering  poor? 
Is  it  not,  indeed,  a  seeming  necessity,  at  least,  that  they  should 
•come  to  regard  selfishness  as  a  sort  of  negative  virtue?  It 
takes  a  high  order  of  spiritual  unfoldment  to  enable  one  to  rise 
•superior  to  environment,  and  to  be  noble  and  grand  notwith- 
standing the  besetting  errors  of  our  earthly  conditions. 

•*•  •*• 

Alas  !  how  often  is  the  cup  of  hope  dashed  from  the 
•spirit's  lips,  and  we  awaken  to  the  dull,  cold  reality  that  our 
•dream  of  joy  is  over.  The  fond  anticipation  of  happy  days  to 
come — days  of  delight  in  plans  and  projects  that  give  a  roseate 
tinge  to  life,  and  make  its  cares  and  duties  all  the  less  irksome 
— is  swept  away  as  with  a  breath,  and  we  take  up  the  old  bur- 
den and  journey  on,  and  on,  till  the  sunset  shall  kiss  our  eye- 
lids to  sleep — the  last  sleep. 

Peace,'  like  'a  mighty  river,  flows  through  the  soul  of  him 
who  has  learned  to  think  no  ill.  It  is  then  he  becomes  one 
with  the  All  Good,  and  is  ready  to  mount,  as  on  eagles'  wings, 
to  the  infinite  heights  of  being. 


SPIRITUAL  SIMPLETONS.  Iiy 

SPIRITUAL,  SIMPLETONS. 

"  The  manly  art !  "  That  is  what  they  call  it  when  two 
thick-headed,  beatle  browed  bruisers  batter  each  other's  faces 
out  of  all  semblance  of  humanity  !  They  do  not  seem  to 
realize,  in  thus  placing  themselves  on  a  level  with  a  beast,  that 
a  sway-backed,  wind-broken  mule  can  strike  a  harder  blow 
with  its  heels  than  they,  its  human  emulators,  can  with  their 
fists  !  Business  men,  with  respectable  associations — with  lov- 
ing wives  and  innocent  children — patronize  the  clubs  where 
these  disgusting  exhibitions  are  held,  and  pious  editors  publish 
the  sickening  details,  thus  lending  their  influence  to  fostering 
and  upholding  human  beastliness  !  O,  ye  spiritual  simpletons, 
is  it  thus  that  ye  would  become  god-like?  Or,  prefer  ye  to 
demonstrate  in  your  own  natures,  the  truthfulness  of  that  des- 
pairing saying  of  Job  that  "Man  hath  no  pre-eminence  over 
the  beast  ?  " 

How  little  we  know  of  life  and  its  possibilities — how  little 
of  the  here  or  hereafter.  We  realize  that  we  have  come  from 
an  infinite  past,  and  are  moving  on  toward  an  infinite  future  ; 
but  wherefore  ?  The  countless  millions  of  human  beings  who 
have  lived  their  little  day  and  passed  on — for  what  purpose,  or 
what  uses  in  the  economy  of  creation,  who  can  imagine  ?  We 
can  only  know  that  we  are,  God  only  can  know  the  rest. 

*'  •*• 
The  world  is  wide  enough  for  all.     If  you  can  not  agree 

with  your  neighbor,  and  he  will  not  go  hence,  you  had  better 
place  a  comfortable  distance  between  you  and  him.  You  can 
not  afford  to  have  your  peace  of  mind  continually  disturbed 
from  any  cause  within  your  power  to  remedy. 

*  # 

Who  would  not  rather  leave  the  world  with  a  tender  mem- 
ory in  some  grateful  heart,  and  the  thought  of  some  life  made 
happier  by  his  living,  than,  without  such  memory  or  thought,  to 
wear  a  costly  monument  above  his  worthless  ashes? 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 
AX  ELEMENT  MISSINU. 


How  very  little  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  there  is  in  the 
churches  of  to-day.  There  are  millions  of  dollars  worth  of 
church  edifices  in  any  of  our  great  cities,  and  yet  crime,  and 
drunkenness,  and  poverty  abound,  seemingly,  as  never  before. 
In  most  of  them  the  worshiping  of  Christ  is  made  paramount 
to  love  for  humanity.  The  Roman  Catholic  saloon  keeper 
spends  the  hour  devoted  to  religious  service  on  Sunday,  in 
counting  his  beads,  and  stupid  adoration  of  the  Host,  and  then 
hurries  back  to  his  whisky-selling  !  The  Protestant  Christian 
takes  all  manner  of  advantage  in  trade  throughout  the  week, 
driving  hard  bargains  with  the  poor,  selling  fourteen  ounces  of 
butter  for  a  pound,  and  the  like,  and  then  eases  his  conscience 
by  listening  to  an  unctuous  sermon  on  Sunday  by  a  ten  thous- 
and dollar  preacher  !  And  all  the  while  there  are  poor  wromen 
making  shirts  for  ten  cents  a  day,  and  homes  all  around  where 
squalor,  and  rags,  and  ignorance  abound.  The  money  invest- 
ed in  the  churches  of  San  Francisco  alone,  if  properly  applied 
to  some  practical  plan  of  co-operative  labor,  would  give  to  every 
poor  man  and  woman  in  the  State  a  home  and  the  means  of  a 
decent  livelihood.  And  yet  we  wrould  not  do  away  with  the 
churches  until  we  are  prepared  to  put  something  better  in  their 
place.  The  people  had  better  be  taught  to  give  for  a  lesser 
good  than  to  give  nothing  for  a  higher  good. 


Evil  thoughts  poison  the  blood,  and  thus  invite  all  manner 
of  physical  ailments.  The  anger  of  the  mother  will  sometimes 
throw  her  nursing  babe  into  spasms.  So  closely  is  the  body  in 
sympathy  with  the  soul  that  whatever  disturbs  the  harmony  of 
the  latter  also  deranges  the  secretions  of  the  body  —  breaks 

dowrn  its  defenses,  as  it  were,  and  opens  its  gate  to  the  enemy. 

# 

*  # 

He  who  seeks  for  the  best  in  his  own  life  has  no  time  to* 
spare  to  search  for  the  evil  in  other  lives. 


THE    YEARS    WEAR    ON.  I  19 

THE  YEARS  WEAR  ON. 

The  years  wear  on,  and  to  the  wiser,  lite,  in  its  highest 
significance,  broadens  as  we  near  the  goal  of  its  earthly  expres- 
sion. We  begin  to  realize,  with  the  great  bard,  "What  a 
wonderful  thing  is  man.''  A  spark  from  the  Infinite  sent  out 
from  the  great  source  of  life,  to  glow  and  blazon  through  space 
forever?  Here  but  a  day,  then  comes  the  morrow !  And  it  is 
how  to  make  that  morrow  brightest  and  happiest  that  we 
should  devote  to-day.  Here  comes  in  the  beautiful  teachings 
of  Spiritualism.  It  can  only  be  by  making  the  best  use  of 
ourselves  and  our  opportunities  here.  We  need  not  expect  to 
wear  a  frown  to-day  with  the  hope  that  it  will  turn  into  a  smile 
to-morrow.  Fill  this  life  with  sunshine  and  the  next  will  catch 
its  glow.  And  how  can  we  fill  it  so  completely  full  of  sunshine 
as  by  doing  good  to  others?  The  tears  we  wipe  from  the  eyes 
of  suffering  and  sorrow  will,  in  the  coming  time,  blossom  into 
peerless  gems  for  our  own  brows.  The  burdens  we  help  to  lift 
from  the  shoulders  of  the  struggling  ones  of  earth,  the  cares  we 
help  to  lighten,  the  griefs  we  assuage,  the  kindness  we  bestow, 
will  all  return  to  us  in  the  shape  of  unfading  joys  in  the  beauti- 
ful hereafter.  All  this  they  tell  us  who  have  passed  on  to  the 
other  life.  Shall  we  not  believe  them,  and  put  into  practice 
their  holy  teachings? 

Is  there  anything  in  the  Universe  more  beautiful  than  a 
beautiful  soul  ?  To  have  the  companionship  and  friendship  of 
such  a  soul — of  a  man  or  woman  who  has  purged  away  the 
dross  of  his  or  her  earthly  nature  by  the  refining  fires  of  ex- 
perience, and  ascended  the  upper  levels  of  life — is  to  walk 
arm  and  arm  with  God.  Ah,  there  are  many  noble  natures 
we  know,  who  are  our  ideals  of  manly  or  womanly  worth,  who 
are  as  true  to  principle  and  duty  as  the  magnet  is  to  the  pole. 
We  are  proud  of  their  friendship,  proud  to  realize  that  they 
have  confidence  in  us,  as  we  in  them. 


120  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

VIRTUE  OF  GIVING. 


It  isn't  the  amount  one  gives  to  a  worthy  cause  that  does 
one's  spirit  so  much  good  as  the  sacrifice  one  makes  in  giving 
it.  The  young  lady  who,  on  experiencing  a  severe  case  of  re- 
ligion, gave  her  ear-rings  to  her  unconverted  sister,  was  enti- 
tled to  no  credit  therefor.  There  was  not  the  slightest  virtue 
in  the  gift.  Neither  is  there  virtue  in  any  gift  of  what  one  can 
dispense  with  without  sacrifice.  The  gifts  that  exalt  one  are 
those  like  the  "widow's  mite"  that  go  down  into  the  soul,  and 
mean  some  unselfish  deprivation  of  enjoyment.  That  in  the 
widow's  case  meant  something  more  then  that,  it  meant  de- 
privation of  comfort,  if  not  of  the  actual  necessaries  of  life.  We 
should  all  learn  that  to  be  generous  in  giving  in  a  good  cause,  is 
the  true  way  to  "lay  up  treasures  in  heaven." 

"I  do  not  know,"  says  the  scientist,  "of  any  future  life — 
at  least,  of  no  individualized,  conscious  existence  for  man  after 
death."  Therefore,  why  should  we  ask  for  proof  of  continued 
existence  from  that  source  ?  Shall  we  ask  of  science  what  it  has 
not  to  give?  Better  seek  for  the  evidence  from  some  one  who 
knows. 

Give  to  woman  the  ballot,  and  how  long  do  you  suppose 
it  would  be  before  that  hydra-headed  monster,  the  rum  traffic, 
would  receive  its  quietus  ?  There  are  none  who  feel  the  terri- 
ble curse  so  keenly  as  the  wives  and  mothers  of  the  land. 
Spiritualists  should  stand  solid  in  favor  of  temperance  reform, 
and  thereby  set  a  worthy  example  to  political  Christians. 

#'  * 
It  costs   nothing   to  be  civil.     One  can  say  "no,"  in  so 

gentle  and  pleasing  a  way  as  to  make  a  lasting  friend  of  the  one 
whose  request  is  thus  denied.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
favor  grudgingly  rendered,  will  win  no  esteem  from  the  recipient 
for  the  one  who  bestows  it. 


THE    SPREAD    OF    TRUTH.  121 

THE  SPREAD  OF  TRUTH 


One  has  but  to  make  inquiry  among  one's  acquaintances 
to  learn  how  very  widely  and  generally  the  belief  in  spiritual 
manifestations  is  spreading  and  taking  root  in  the  world. 
Many  do  not  care  for  it  to  be  known,  others  do  not  accept  all 
the  facts ;  but  the  fact  that  the  great  truth  is  spreading,  espec- 
ially among  thoughtful  minds,  at  a  rapid  rate,  can  not  be  refut- 
ed. Our  modern  literature  is  full  of  Spiritualism ;  orthodox 
ministers  of  the  gospel, — those  whose  backs  are  not  covered 
with  theological  moss, — do  not  hesitate  to  preach  its  central 
truths.  It  is  interpenetrating,  in  some  form  or  other,  all  en- 
lightened thought.  And  while  thousands  of  believers  in  these 
truths  would  rebel  at  the  idea  of  being  called  Spiritualists,  yet 
they  are  such  all  the  same,  and  they  do  not  know  it.  May 
the  blessed  truth  run  and  be  glorified  among  men.  May  it 
help  the  world  to  broader  and  better  views  of  religion,  and  to 
a  better  quality  of  humanity  —  as  it  surely  will,  as  it  enters 
more  and  more  into  the  spirit  as  well  as  into  the  understand- 
ing of  men. 

Some  men,  who  are  genial  and  affable  in  public,  are  the 
worst  of  tyrants  in  their  own  families.  They  seem  to  save  all 
their  meanness  for  their  homes.  They  always  have  a  kind 
word  and  a  pleasant  smile  for  their  neighbor's  wife,  while  for 
their  own  they  have  only  sullen  looks  and  unkind  speech. 
Such  men  need  a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  need  a 
hot  one  ! 

*  # 

Is  there  a  depth  of  woe  more  profound  than  that  which 
overshadows  the  heart  of  the  mother  bending  over  the  form  of 
her  dying  babe?  The  little  pale  face,  the  fluttering  pulse,  the 
short,  quick  breath — "Doctor,  O,  is  there  no  hope?  Could 
the  mother  only  see,  as  some  can,  the  beautiful  spirit  form  stand- 
ing by  her  side,  ready  to  receive  to  her  loving  arms  the  spirit 


122  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

of  that  precious  babe — could  she  but  realize  that  in  the  spirit 
world  her  heart's  treasure  will  be  trained  in  every  perfect  way 
of  life,  and  grow  up  into  all  grace  and  beauty,  with  no  loving 
tie  sundered — would  not  that  knowledge  be  to  her  a  boon 
above  all  price?  This  is  the  balm  Spiritualism  brings  to  the 
stricken  heart. 

*  * 

How  little  the  multitude  realize  the  responsibilities  of  life. 

They  live  for  the  present  hour,  and  its  selfish  enjoyments. 
They  buy  and  sell,  and  seek  to  circumvent  each  other  in  trade, 
as  though  true  happiness  was  to  be  found  in  securing  some- 
thing of  earthly  riches  or  fame  to  themselves  that  their  fellows 
do  not  possess.  And  just  when  they  have  secured  their  prize 
Death  tears  it  from  their  grasp  and  sends  them  out  into  a 
world  where  wealth  and  worldly  honors  count  for  naught. 

*  * 

How  often  we  sing  at  our  seances  and  in  our  public  meet- 
ings the  dear  old  words,  "Nearer,  my  God  to  Thee — nearer  to 
Thee."  Would  that  all  Spiritualists  could  sing  these  words  in 
the  spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also.  That  is,  that  all 
could  feel  as  they  sing  that  they  are  drawing  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  Great  Central  Good  of  the  universe — to  the  divine  life 
of  the  soul.  It  is  only  thus  we  can  derive  from  this  earth  ex- 
perience its  highest  and  truest  meaning. 

*  * 

No  man  can  lose  his  temper  without  injury  to  his  own 
spiritual  nature,  to  say  nothing  of  the  harm  and  wrong  he  may 
do  to  others.  The  horse  that  becomes  frightened  and  runs 
away  is  never  quite  as  safe  or  trustworthy  afterwards.  There 
are  occasions,  do  you  say,  when  you  cannot  help  becoming 
angry?  Those  are  just  the  occasions  when  you  most  need  to 
hold  yourself  under  control,  and  which  best  show  the  metal  of 
which  you  are  made.  It  is  only  the  spiritual  weakling  that  flies 
into  a  passion  for  trivial  causes ;  the  moral  hero  is  he  who  can 
hold  himself  level  under  great  provocation. 


THE    COMING    CENTURY.  123 

THE  COMING  CENTURY. 


What  mind  can  grasp  the  wonderful  possibilities  of  the  com- 
ing century?  Is  it  not  possible  that  Bellamy's  speculative 
literary  creation,  "Looking  Backward,"  will  be  more  than 
realized  by  the  year  2000?  Scan  the  achievements  of  the  past 
century — its  marvelous  inventions  and  unfoldments  in  all 
directions  of  art,  science  and  ethics, — its  spiritual  revelations — 
its  idol-breaking  and  myth-destroying  processes — its  new  revel- 
ations of  truth — its  disenthralment  of  the  mind  from  old 
superstitions, — and  who  shall  say  to  what  heights  of  knowledge 
the  world  may  not  advance  during  the  coming  century.  To  the 
prophetic  soul,  it  is  evident  that  enlightened  man  is  stand- 
ing upon  the  threshold  of  the  chamber  of  knowledge,  within 
whose  secret  recesses  are  wonders  that  eclipse  conception  with 
their  mighty  meanings.  The  lightning  express  train  of  progress 
is  sweeping  onward.  It  is  bearing  us  away  from  the  old  and  out 
into  the  new.  Unwise  are  they  who  wait  for  the  slow  freight. 

*  # 

The  power  of  thought!  Who  can  realize  its  potency? 
WTe  are  not  only  subject  to  the  psychological  power  of  thought 
of  others,  but  we  psychologize  ourselves  into  wrong  ways  of 
thinking,  until  we  come  in  time  to  reconcile  ourselves  to  the 
commission  of  wrongful  acts.  Pope  never  uttered  a  truer 
.sentiment  than  when  he  said  : 

"Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  hideous  mien 
That  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen  ; 
But  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 

*** 

A  thoroughly  good,  intelligent,  high-minded,  spiritual 
woman,  what  is  there  in  the  universe  below  the  rank  of  arch- 
angel that  can  compare  with  her  ?  How  the  aura  of  her  pres- 
ence makes  everybody  who  comes  within  its  influence  better 
and  happier  !  Such  a  woman  never  grows  old.  She  is  always 
young,  and  fair,  and  beautiful,  and  becomes  more  so  with  the 


124  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

years,  until  at  last  she  steps  across  the   border,  an   angel  of 
light  and  love  forevermore. 


A  SUNNY  SOUL. 

One  of  the  happiest  and  sunniest  souls  we  ever  knew  is 
that  of  a  dear  old  lady  now  nearing  the  border  land  of  time, 
whose  last  dollar,  with  the  kind  help  of  others,  was  spent  to 
secure  a  stopping  place  in  one  of  those  loveless  and  barren 
shelters,  known  as  an  "Old  Ladies'  Home."  This  lady  is  a 
great  reader,  a  devout  Spiritualist,  and  not  an unfrequent  visitor 
to  our  Free  Reading  Room.  A  few  years  ago  her  only  son 
and  support  in  her  old  age  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident. 
Coupled  with  this  is  a  personal  affliction  of  absolute  deafness. 
Most  women,  and  all  men,  in  such  sore  straits,  would  sit  down 
in  the  everlasting  dumps.  Not  so,  our  heroine.  Misfortune 
and  poverty  seem  but  to  have  brightened  her  spirit.  She  radi- 
ates sunshine  and  happiness  all  around  her.  She  lives  close 
to  the  heart  of  Infinite  Love.  She  knows  that  there  is  no 
death,  and  is  looking  forward  with  rapturous  delight  to  the 
time  when  she  shall  cast  aside  the  form  and  step  forth  a  white- 
robed  angel  into  the  new  and  higher  life.  As  a  model  of  pa- 
tient,  gentle  and  abiding  trust  in  the  All  Good  we  thank  her 
for  this  fragment. 


REMEDY  FOK  CRIME. 


When  we  come  to  learn  that  crime  is  the  result  of  ignor- 
ance and  undeveloped  spiritual  conditions,  we  shall  cease  to 
punish  the  criminal  for  his  offenses  against  society,  but  rather 
seek  his  reformation  by  kind  and  humane  methods,  and  by 
appealing  to  the  better  side  of  his  nature.  Our  prisons  will 
then  become  schools  of  reform,  and  the  criminal  tendency  be 
treated  as  a  moral  disease.  The  wrong-doer  will  be  restrained 
of  his  liberty  just  as  we  restrain  the  insane,  for  his  own  good, 
as  well  as  for  the  protection  of  society.  And  when  the  moral 


BELIEF    VS.    KNOWLEDGE.  125 

health  of  the  prisoner  is  restored,  he  will  be  permitted  to  go 
hence  without  reproach.  There  was  a  time  when  our  ances- 
tors had  but  little  respect  for  the  rights  of  their  fellows.  The 
strongest  and  shrewdest  anthropoid  robbed  his  weaker  brother 
without  the  slightest  compunction  of  conscience.  The  reason  all 
do  not  do  so  now  is  because  some  are  more  advanced  spiritu- 
ally than  others. 

BELIEF  VS.  KNOWLEDGE. 

Belief  without  knowledge,  is  nothing  but  a  thread  of  gos- 
samer— an  idle  fancy — a  something,  nothing.  The  world  has 
been  cursed  with  too  much  belief  and  too  little  knowledge. 
Belief  belongs  to  the  childhood  of  the  race.  It  is  full  of  a 
child's  fancies.  It  takes  all  shapes,  and  makes  real  all  manner 
of  grotesque  things.  But  the  time  comes  when  knowledge  re- 
legates belief  to  its  proper  place  among  the  shadows.  The  re- 
ligions of  the  past  have  been  mainly  religions  of  belief,  un- 
founded in  the  constitution  of  man.  •  The  Christian  world,  for 
centuries,  has  believed  in  a  conglomeration  of  absurdities  un- 
worthy the  intellect  of  a  child.  In  what  a  nightmare  of  the 
brain  must  have  been  conceived  the  idea  of  a  lost  world,  and 
in  fact,  the  whole  orthodox  plan  of  man's  creation  and  redemp- 
tion. To  imagine  an  Omnipotent  Being  creating  a  Devil  with 
power  to  frustrate  his  plans  and  undo  the  work  he  had  done, 
and  the  necessity  of  killing  a  part  of  himself  (which  part  was 
his  entire  self  !)  in  order  to  prevent  the  Devil  from  getting  pos- 
session of  all  the  souls  of  the  Father's  creation — can  the  fruit- 
ful fancy  of  childhood  excel  in  absurdity  this  idea  ?  And  yet 
from  thrice  ten  thousand  pulpits  throughout  the  civilized  world 
is  this  amazing  fable  taught.  In  the  light,  or  darkness  rather, 
of  such  teachings,  did  Modern  Spiritualism  dawn  upon  the 

world  any  too  soon? 

•— - ••-  •  -»~ » 

The  light  is  breaking  upon  the  hill  tops — the  light  of  a 
new  day.  The  hideous  phantoms  of  the  night  of  a  false  the- 


126  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

ology  that  has  stood  throughout  all  the  ages,  as  a  fearful  spec- 
tre by  the  bedside  of  the  race — is  melting  away  into  an  un- 
pleasant memory,  before  the  advancing  effulgence  of  the  com- 
ing day.  We  are  just  beginning  to  learn  that  Good,  and  not 
Evil,  dominates  the  universe — that  Omnipotent  Law  is  man's 
best  friend.  How  hard  has  been  the  struggle  with  the  shapes 
of  wrong,  with  the  childish  imperfections  of  our  undeveloped 
spiritual  and  moral  natures,  to  attain  this  end.  But  the  race 
is  won  at  last,  thank  the  good  angels,  and  humanity  is  steadily 
moving  forward  to  vastly  mightier  ends  and  purposes. 


SPIRITUALISM  MAI>E  PRACTICAL. 


We  believe  in  making  Spiritualism  a  practical  means  for 
the  betterment  of  the  race,  and  that  by  methods  of  its  own. 
Shall  we  have  our  theories  of  life  and  duty,  and  then  indiffer 
ently  permit  other  theories  to  dominate  the  world?  Shall  we 
have  no  schools  of  our  own,  no  public  charities,  no  schemes  of 
co-operative  labor,  or  finance,  or  trade  ?  Shall  we  spend  the 
day  in  open-eyed  wonderment  of  the  "  manifestations  of  the 
spirit,"  until  the  night  cometh  on  and  finds  us  with  our  tasks 
all  unperformed  ?  Spiritualism  is  no  longer  a  mere  question 
of  phenomena.  It  has  outgrown  its  baby  clothes.  The  sensi- 
ble world  concedes  that  it  is  not  all  a  trick — that  there  is  some 
good  reason  for  the  belief  of  its  millions  of  votaries.  It  is 
high  time  that  we  did  something  more  than  talk — that  we 
garnered  our  sheaves,  and  reaped  the  reward  of  the  harvest. 
What  can  we — what  should  we  of  the  Pacific  Coast  do  ?  We 
•can  erect  a  temple  in  San  Francisco,  with  lecture  halls,  a  col- 
lege of  psychical  research,  a  publishing  house,  etc.,  for  the 
dissemination  of  our  truths.  To  do  less  than  this  is  to  blazon 
•our  weakness  and  indifference  to  the  world.  Come,  friends — 
ye  who  have  learned  there  is  no  death — let  us  wake  up  to  a 
realization  that  we  owe  a  duty  to  our  Cause. 


OUR    THANKSGIVING.  127 

OUR  THANKSGIVING. 


The  appointing  by  the  State  of  a  day  of  general  thanks- 
giving, (formerly  of  fasting  and  prayer),  to  the  Supreme  Ruler 
of  the  Universe,  for  the  blessings  of  health  and  prosperity  as  a 
people,  in  compliance  with  a  religious  custom,  is  looked  upon 
with  much  disfavor  by  atheistic  persons.  Like  the  institution 
of  Sunday,  such  persons  are  not  compelled  to  observe  Thanks- 
giving day,  any  more  than  they  are  our  other  legalized  holidays, 
— or  even  the  exclusively  holy  days  recognized  by  the  Church. 
But  surely  there  is  no  one,  however  deficient  in  the  organ  of  vener- 
ation, who  can  seriously  object  to  a  recognition  of  the  day  as  a 
day  of  rest  and  recreation,  for  the  enjoyment  of  such  social 
festivities  as  that  to  which  it  is  now  generally  devoted.  And 
surely  all  should  be  magnanimous  enough^  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  own  freedom,  to  permit,  without  cavil,  those  who  may  so 
prefer,  to  devote  the  day  to  fasting  and  prayer.  If  any  should 
choose  to  clothe  themselves  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  in  token  of 
their  humiliation  of  spirit,  on  that  day,  for  the  crimes  and 
wrongs  committed  in  the  name  of  liberty,  they  ought  to  be 
permitted  to  do  so,  and  no  one  should  say  them  nay,  or  ques- 
tion their  right  in  the  matter. 


But  there  is  a  spiritual  side  to  this  question,  which  should 
commend  it  to  the  consideration  of  all  who  are  seeking  for  the 
higher  life  :  and  that  is  the  importance  of  developing  a  spirit 
of  thankfulness  as  essential  to  true  growth.  "Thankful  for 
what?"  do  we  hear  some  one  ask?  Thankfulness  for  everything 
— thankfulness  that  we  were  not  overlooked  in  the  construction 
of  the  universe — that  we  live,  and  will  live  forever.  Again 
our  questioner:  "Is  a  future  life  desirable  at  the  price  many  of 
"us  are  compelled  to  pay  for  it  in  this  life — of  poverty,  sickness, 
"misfortune,  etc.?"  What  are  the  brief  moments  of  mortal 
existence,  compared  to  an  existence  of  infinite  duration,  and 
the  advantage  of  infinite  growth  in  all  the  higher  capacities  of 


128  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

the  soul?  Of  what  stuff  can  any  one  be  made  that  he  should 
be  unwilling  to  take  the  chances  of  a  few  earthly  ills  and  dis- 
comforts for  an  unfoldment  of  spiritual  powers  and  possibilities 
that  eclipse  conception  in  their  mighty  reach? 


Some  of  our  atheist  friends  seem  so  apprehensive  that 
they  may  be  betrayed  into  doing  something  that  may  squint  at 
the  recognition  of  an  Infinite,  Overruling  Intelligence,  that 
they  will  hardly  allow  themselves  to  be  properly  appreciative  of 
the  real  joys  and  blessings  of  life,  lest  such  appreciation  might 
be  construed  to  the  disadvantage  of  their  materialistic  claims. 
The  unhappiness  of  all  such  persons  should  forever  stand 
as  a  warning  to  the  more  spiritually  inclined  to  shun  the  rocks 
of  pessimism  upon  which  their  life  barks  have  been  wrecked. 
He  must  be  spiritually  blind  indeed,  who  cannot  see  a  Divine 
purpose  in  human  life,  and  in  the  varied  and  marvelous  forms 
of  matter  with  which  we  are  surrounded,  and  of  which  we  are, 
physically,  a  part. 


How  can  we  know  what  is  best  for  us — the  discipline,  mould- 
ing and  annealing,  that  may  be  necessary  to  adjust  us  to  our 
proper  place  in  the  mechanism  of  the  universe.  The  pain  we 
suffer ;  the  tears  that  are  wrung  from  our  very  hearts  at  times 
— are  all,  for  aught  we  know,  Nature's  processes  for  forging  us 
into  shape  and  harmony  with  the  Eternal  Plan.  At  any  rate, 
isn't  it  better  for  us  to  accept  them  as  such,  than  to  rebel,  like 
truant  school-boys,  from  the  discipline  necessary  to  hold  us  to 
our  tasks?  If  we  accept  our  sorrows  and  sufferings  in  a  spirit 
of  thankfulness  we  rob  them  of  half  their  hurt. 


But  there  is  so  much  of  good  in  the  world  to  be  thankful 
for — so  much  of  beauty  and  joy — so  much  to  gladden  the  soul 
and  thrill  it  with  a  sense  of  true  thankfulness,  that  it  would 
seem  that  we  would  hardly  need  to  be  reminded  thereof  by  the 
setting  apart  of  any  one  day  in  the  year  as  a  fitting  time  to  give 


WHAT    CAN    I    DO  ?  129 

expression  to  our  thanks.  We  should  be  thankful  every  day; 
our  lives  should  be  a  benison  of  thankfulness  perpetually  to 
that  Infinite  Mystery  of  spirit  that  has  given  us  eyes  to  enjoy 
the  beautiful  pictures  of  nature — its  grandeur  of  mountain  and 
ocean ;  ears  to  drink  in  the  melody  of  sounds ;  and  other 
faculties  for  sensing  the  delights  of  being.  For  the  pleasures 
of  friendship,  for  the  gentle  hearts  that  love  us,  for  the  sweet 
intercourse  of  soul  with  soul,  for  the  uplifting  hands  reaching 
down  to  us  from  the  bending  skies,  for  the  bright  hope  of  a  life 
of  happy  usefulness  beyond  the  gates  of  death,  and  for.  the 
infinite  possibilities  opening  out  before  us.  let  us  give  thanks. 

Aye,  indeed !  What  though  your  lot  may  be  cast  in 
poverty,  and  many  misfortunes  and  ills  attend  you  even  al 
through  your  earthly  pilgrimage  ;  are  ye  not  journeying  towards 
home — to  the  better  land?  See  ye  not  "the  light  in  the 
window  "  to  some  of  those  "  many  mansions  "  that  shall  yet  be 
your  abode  in  the  land  of  souls?  Take  heart  of  hope,  ye 
sorrowing  ones.  With  eyes  fixed  upon  the  shimmering  summit 
of  the  Mount  Delectable,  take  up  your  staff  and  scrip  and  jour- 
ney on.  And  so  we  will  all  give  thanks. 


WHAT  CAN  I  IM>? 


"What  can  I  do  for  a  living?"  we  think  we  hear  some 
one  say,  some  one  who  is  passively  waiting  and  waiting  for 
something  to  "turn  up."  Well,  let  us  see,  what  are  you  good 
for  ?  Workers  are  needed  everywhere  and  in  all  departments  of 
life;  now  what  can  you  do?  Have  you  a  trade  or  profession? 
No?  That's  bad  ;  but  there  is  much  work  to  be  done  that  does 
not  require  any  great  amount  of  skill — nothing  more  than 
patient  application  and  good  practical  sense.  With  a  good 
stock  of  the  latter,  and  a  reasonable  amount  of  energy  to  push 
it  to  the  front,  no  man  or  woman  need  long  remain  idle.  But 
a  great  mistake  of  the  unemployed  is  that  Jthey  can  sit  down 


130  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

idly,  like  young  robins  in  the  nest,  and  expect  the  fat  morsel  to 
drop  into  their  open  mouths  without  any  effort  of  their  own. 
It  is  better  for  a  poor  man  to  earn  his  board  merely,  than  to  eat 
the  food  of  charity  in  idleness.  All  labor,  if  worthy,  is  honor- 
able, and  no  man  or  woman  should  hesitate  to  accept  any 
respectable  employment,  the  best  that  can  be  had,  of  course, 
rather  than  be  a  burden  upon  his  friends,  or  the  charity  of  the 
world. 


"  Heaven  is  not  reached  by  a  single  bound  ; 

We  must  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise, 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 

And  we  mount  to  the  summit  round  by  round/' 

Thus  wrote  that  grand  spiritual  soul,  James  G.  Holland. 
How  true  it  is,  and  how  suggestive  of  the  necessity  of  steady, 
persistent  effort  to  overcome  the  imperfections  of  our  natures, 
and  enable  us  to  attain  to  those  graces  and  glories  of  being 
that  make  us  fit  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  pure  spiritual  delights 
of  the  higher  life.  The  appetites  and  practices  that  drag  one 
down  to  earth  must  be  overcome,  and  the  wisdom  principle, 
sanctified  by  love,  enthroned  in  the  citadel  of  the  soul.  What 
a  work  is  this,  O  Mortal,  the  All-Father  has  set  you  to  perform  ? 
And  how  important  that  you  perform  it  well,  that  you  may  re-, 
ceive  the  welcome  plaudit  of  the  God  within,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  the  life 
divine." 


T.EVEL  HEADS. 


The  world  wants  level  heads  in  religion  as  well  as  in  the 
business  affairs  of  life.  Fanaticism  and  bigotry  are  as  much 
out  of  place  in  the  one  as  in  the  other.  It  wants  a  religion  of 
honesty  in  trade,  and  gentleness  of  conduct  in  all  the  relations 
of  life.  It  wants  a  religion  that  will  "sit  down''  on  all  manner 
of  gossip  and  scandal,  and  make  the  good  name  of  a  brother 
or  sister  as  sacred  in  their  absence  as  in  their  presence.  It 


"IF    I    WERE    ONLY    RICH."  13! 

wants  a  religion  of  generous  impulses  and  good  will;  one  that 
will  not  hesitate  to  do  a  kind  act  to  an  enemy ;  one  that  will 
never  betray  a  friend  !  It  wants  a  religion  of  cleanliness, 
inside  and  out — a  religion  of  health,  and  pure  air,  and  whole- 
some dress  and  diet.  It  wants  a  religion  of  sunshine  and  good 
cheer — a  religion  of  love,  in  its  broadest,  holiest  and  purest 
sense.  In  short,  it  wants  a  religion  of  common  sense.  With 
a  good  supply  of  this  kind  of  religion  on  hand  no  one  need 
borrow  trouble  of  the  future,  and  lay  awake  nights  mourning 
over  his  sins. 


IF  I  WEKE  ONLY  KICH. 


"O,  if  I  were  only  rich  !"  sighs  an  over-burdened  soul  at 
our  elbow  —  over-burdened  with  poor  health  and  physical  in- 
ability to  struggle  with  the  great  competitive  world,  where  the 
strongest  come  off  victorious,  and  the  weakest  go  to  the  wall. 
Have  you  counted  the  cost  of  riches,  dear  lady  —  the  care, 
anxiety,  and  above  all,  their  crystalizing  influence  upon  all  the 
finer  qualities  of  the  spirit?  Why,  there  are  rich  men  and 
women  in  this  great  world,  whose  hearts  are  as  barren  of  gener- 
ous impulses,  and  whose  lives  are  as  empty  of  noble  purpose, 
as  though  they  had  been  made  of  brass.  Would  you  ex- 
change your  own  warm,  generous  nature,  though  humble  and 
empty  it  may  be  of  this  world's  wealth,  for  the  possibility  of 
becoming  like  one  of  these  ?  But  we  know  it  is  not  riches 
your  heart  pines  for,  so  much  as  for  a  reasonable  competence. 
How  to  be  happy  without  even  a  competence,  is  the  spiritual 
.problem  you  should  seek  to  solve.  And  one  may  be  very 
happy  in  poverty  if  one  only  knows  how.  We  read  of  one  of 
old  who  "  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,"  yet  he  could  teach 
us  all  lessons  of  contentment  and  true  happiness. 


Some  people  seem  to  take  a  sort  of  delight  in  being  mis- 
erable.    They  will  hide  themselves  away  in  the  shadows  when 


132  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

the  sun  shines  brightly  all  around,  inviting  them  to  bask  in  its 
delicious,  health-inspiring  beams.  Their  pains  and  aches, 
their  griefs  and  sorrows,  they  roll  as  it  were  "  a  sweet  morsel 
under  the  tongue  " — live  them  over  and  over  again,  as  though 
they  were  memories  to  be  cherished.  Now,  the  true  way  of 
life  is  to  put  the  unpleasant  things  of  this  world  under  foot — to 
forget  them.  When  once  a  trouble  is  over,  let  it  go,  and  think 
no  more  about  it  forever.  Think  only  of  the  heights  you  have 
•climbed,  and  others  to  be  attained,  and  not  of  the  thorny  way 
you  have  passed,  and  must  pass  to  reach  them. 

It  is  a  law  of  the  universe  that  God  helps  him  who  helps 
himself,  and  just  in  proportion  as  he  helps  himself.  The  effort 
that  one  makes  in  the  direction  of  the  accomplishment  of  any 
worthy  purpose  calls  moral  forces  to  his  aid  that  he  little 
•dreams  of  to  fight  his  battles  for  him.  Man  is  not  left  to 
make  his  way  through  life  alone.  He  is,  if  his  purposes  are 
worthy,  surrounded  by  a  mighty  cohort  of  invisible  friends, 
who  stand  ready  at  his  beck  to  further  his  interests.  But  he 
must  not  sit  down  in  indifference,  trusting  to  these  aids  to  do 
his  work  for  him.  They  come  only  at  the  call  of  his  own  per- 
sistent efforts  ;  they  yoke  themselves  with  his  own  determined 
thought,  and  clear  the  way  of  all  obstacles  to  his  success. 

*** 

It  is  the  height  of  folly  to  quarrel  with  Nature  or  find  fault 
with  her  laws.  To  do  so  indicates  a  low  order  of  spiritual  un- 
foldment  ;  besides,  Nature  takes  not  the  slightest  notice  of 
jour  complaints,  but  marches  straight  forward  in  her  undeviat- 
ing  course  forever.  Whoever  stands  in  the  way  of  her  laws 
must  surfer  the  consequences.  There  is  no  sentiment  in  the 
cyclone.  It  hurls  to  destruction  the  Christian  mother,  and  the 
babe  crooning  in  her  arms,  with  no  more  compunction,  or 
scruples,  than  it  would  the  meanest  of  her  creations.  But 
then  what  if  it  does !  Who  knows  that  the  mother  or  babe 
has  received  the  slightest  injury? 


HOW    DOES    HE    KNOW?  133 

HOW  I>OES  HE  KNOW  ? 

It  is  a  favorite  expression  of  a  dear  old  friend  of  ours, 
that  "  man  is  pushed  into  the  world  without  his  knowledge  or 
"  consent,  that  he  is  pushed  through  it  and  out  of  it,  and  he 
"  cannot  help  himself."  He  will  excuse  our  inquisitiveness 
when  we  ask  him  how  he  knows  that  he  did  not  come  here 
entirely  with  his  own  knowledge  and  consent,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  the  experience  that  this  life  affords.  If  man 
is  a  spark  from  the  Infinite  Life — a  fraction  of  God  —  he  cer- 
tainly must  have  possessed  a  previous  intelligent  existence  of 
.some  kind ;  and  if  so,  he  must  have  known  something  of  the 
purpose  and  object  he  had  in  view  in  embodying  himself  in 
matter.  How  does  our  friend  know  that  he  did  not  push  him- 
self into  the  world?  Concerning  things  whereof  we  do  not 
know,  it  is  not  wise  to  be  too  positive. 


HIGHEST    IDEAL. 


"He  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  better  than  he  that  tak- 
eth  a  city."  That  is,  it  is  of  more  consequence  to  a  man,  a 
truer  indication  of  worth  and  greatness,  that  he  be  able  to  rule 
himself  wisely,  than  that  he  rank  high  in  the  world  as  a  ruler 
of  others.  This  is  a  rarer  test  of  true  excellence,  than,  at  first 
thought,  one  might  suppose.  How  is  it  with  you,  dear  reader  ? 
Are  all  the  appetites,  passions  and  weaknesses  of  your  nature 
dominated  by  an  enlightened  will?  Have  you  the  animal 
man  "  well  in  hand,"- with  a  taut  rein,  and  are  you  sure  of 
your  ability  to  "  hold  him  level,"  in  the  great  race  of  life  ? 
Can  you  withstand  temptations  ?  Are  you  living  up  to  your 
highest  ideals  of  right  and  duty  ?  If  you  are,  then  pray  for  us 
that  we  may  be  like  unto  you. 


"One  world  at  a  time,"  says  the  Materialist.  That  is 
good  advice,  provided  one  makes  the  right  use  of  the  "one 
world"  he  now  lives  in.  But  the  trouble  with  most  people  who 


134  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

give  no  thought  to  a  future  life,  or  to  another  world,  is,  that 
their  spirits  become  so  incrusted  with  material  things,  and  so 
oblivious  to  things  spiritual,  that  when  they  enter  upon  the 
other  life  they  are  as  illy  fitted  for  its  duties  and  responsibilities 
as  babes.  If  one  was  going  to  a  new  country  to  reside  it  would 
certainly  be  a  great  advantage  to  him  to  know  what  was  neces- 
sary to  take  with  him  to  secure  the  best  conditions  and  highest 
enjoyments  of  the  place. 


EMPTINESS  OF  KICHES. 


How  empty  and  vain  must  seem  all  the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance of  life — stocks,  bonds  and  bank  accounts,  houses 
and  lands — to  the  man  with  the  death  rattle  in  his  throat.  A 
passenger  upon  a  sinking  ship,  cast  aside  his  belt,  weighted 
with  gold,  preparatory  to  committing  himself  to  the  waves. 
His  neighbor  picked  it  up  and  buckled  it  around  his  own 
waist.  One  sank  beneath  the  waves,  the  other  floated  upon 
the  surface,  and  was -rescued.  Men  who  know  better,  sink  in- 
to the  grave  daily,  weighted  down  with  that  which  will  encum- 
ber their  spirits  perhaps  for  ages,  and  bind  them  down  to  the 
earth  plane.  Live,  if  you  will,  O  ye  favored  ones  of  earth,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  your  wealth  while  ye  may,  but  for  your  own 
soul's  sake,  and  for  God's  sake,  do  some  good  with  it  when 
you  die. 

We  bring  nothing  into  the  world  but  the  germs  of  body 
and  spirit ;  we  take  nothing  out  but  spirit.  The  body  hav- 
ing done  its  work  is  resolved  into  its  original  elements.  But 
what  of  the  spirit?  In  this  is  centered  the  fruition  of  our 
years — of  our  experiences — of  our  joys  and  sorrows — of  our 
good  or  bad  thoughts  and  deeds — all  of  which  may  be  summed 
up  in  one  word,  "  character.1'  This,  and  this  only,  we  carry 
with  us  to  the  other  life.  Put  this  question  to  yourself,  dear 
reader,  "Stripped  of  everything  else  but  character,  what  have 
I  to  commence  business  with  in  the  other  life  ? '' 


THE    STILL    SMALL    VOICE.  135 

THE  STILL  SMALL  VOICE. 


The  higher  we  ascend  the  scale  of  being,  in  our  spiritual 
natures,  the  more  susceptible  do  we  become  to  the  thought 
atmosphere  all  around  us,  and  to  the  spiritual  forces  and  cur- 
rents ever  descending  to  the  children  of  earth  from  the  shining 
ones  of  the  higher  life.  No  one  can  err  who  listens  to  the 
"still  small  voice  "  of  the  spirit  within  his  own  soul  and  follows 
its  teachings.  The  trouble  with  most  of  us  is  that  we  either 
stop  our  ears  and  refuse  to  listen,  or,  hearing,  refuse  to  obey. 
No  mortal  yet  ever  earnestly  and  sincerely  sought  for  the  path 
who  did  not  find  it,  sooner  or  later.  Help  comes  to  him  from 
sources  he  little  imagined,  clearing  away  the  thick  underbrush 
of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  and  leading  him  forth  into  the  light. 
All  roads  lead  to  happiness ;  but  some  are  much  longer  than 
others.  All  travelers  through  the  valley  of  shadows  will  get 
there,  sometime. 


ONLY  FOR  THE  FEW. 


As  yet  spiritual  truth  is  only  for  the  few.  The  multitude 
are  not  yet  ready  for  it.  Step  by  step  and  little  by  little  the 
sunlight  of  the  new  dispensation  breaks  upon  the  world.  The 
new  convert  to  the  stupendous  facts  of  spirit  existence  and 
communion,  is  apt  to  be  enthusiastic.  He  is  naturally  anxious 
that  his  friends  should  be  brought  face  to  face  with  such  facts 
and  phenomena  as  have  convinced  him  of  the  central  truths 
of  Spiritualism.  The  result,  in  many  instances,  has  been  dis- 
astrious  to  the  medium  and  of  no  benefit  to  the  investigator. 
It  is  not  the  conviction  of  a  great  truth  that  men  like  Prof. 
Huxley  seek  for  in  their  investigation  of  spirit  mediumship, 
but  to  prove  to  their  own  satisfaction  that  there  is  no  truth  in 
it,  an  that  what  they  do  not  know  about  nature's  ways  isn't 
worth  knowing !  The  truth  comes  only  to  those  who  are 
ready  and  willing  to  receive  it. 


I36  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

01  H    GOOD    OLI)    MOTHER. 

How  soft  and  beautiful  on  this  glad  Sunday  morning  (the 
hour  we  give  to  these  fragments),  the  sunlight  gilds  the  green 
hills  and  fertile  plains  with  its  golden  glory.  The  air  is  soft 
and  balmy  as  the  breath  of  love,  and  the  sky,  with  its  gentle 
wings,  seems  to  brood  the  earth  with  infinite  tenderness. 
What  an  impartial  friend  is  our  good  old  Mother  Nature.  She 
has  the  same  smile  for  the  just  as  the  unjust:  Her  soft  air 
kisses  the  feverish  brow  of  the  misguided  one  just  the  same 
as  it  does  the  roseate  cheek  of  innocence.  She  never  scolds,  or 
complains,  or  condemns  ;  but  is  ever  inviting  her  children  into  the 
better  ways  of  life.  See  ye  not,  O  mortal,  the  loving  hands 
down-reaching  from  the  bending  skies,  to  draw  you  closer  to 
the  heart  of  Infinite  Love?  Heed  ye  not  the  "line  upon  line 
and  precept  upon  precept"  of  her  many  teachings?  She  does 
not  tell  you  that  by  any  vicarious  process  you  can  escape 
the  consequences  of  your  sins,  but  she  would  have  you  live 
the  true  life,  that  your  spirit  may  be  clear  from  the  scars  of 
sin.  Who  can  not  draw  from  earth,  air  and  sky,  on  such  a 
glorious  morning  as  this,  an  inspiration  prompting  to  a  better 
and  higher  life. 


ACQUISITIVENESS. 


The  acquisitive  faculty  in  human  nature,  though  not  the 
highest  faculty,  nevertheless  has  its  uses  in  the  world's  unfold- 
ment.  It  is  through  this  that  the  Infinite  Spirit  works  to 
mighty  ends.  The  rich  man  whose  heart  has  not  been  cor- 
rupted by  his  riches — and  there  are  many  such  —  becomes  a 
vast  storehouse  of  golden  opportunities  for  the  uplifting  of  hu- 
manity. It  is  through  such  means  that  universities  are  found- 
ed, great  libraries  established,  and  noble  charities  upheld.  It 
is  also  by  the  aggregation  and  disbursement  of  the  world's  sur- 
plus wealth  that  mighty  enterprises  for  the  advancement  of  civ- 
ilization are  founded  and  fostered — railroads  spanning  conti- 


A    WEAK    CHARGE.  1 3  7 

nents;  lines  of  steamships  crossing  every  sea.  Not  ours  to 
condemn  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  except  when  perverted  to 
ignoble  uses.  The  pressure  of  modern  thought  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  the  common  needs  of  an 
undeveloped  humanity,  is  telling  in  this  as  in  all  other  human 
affairs.  The  time  is  coming  when  a  man  will  be  ashamed  to 
die  possessed  of  great  riches. 

A  WEAK  CHA1UJK. 


One  of  the  weakest  charges  ever  made  against  Spiritualism 
by  the  Christian  world  is  that  it  is  not  respectable.  True,  it 
has  no  elegant  churches,  with  softly  cushioned  pews,  inviting 
the  worshiper  to  dreamy  devotion.  It  is  wanting  in  most  of 
the  appliances  of  ecclesiasticism,  —  in  theological  seminaries, 
in  orders  of  divinity,  in  conferences,  and  general  synods.  But 
then,  in  its  earlier  history,  Christianity  was  entirely  devoid  of 
such  things.  It  wasn't  even  respectable  !  Jesus  himself  was 
looked  upon  by  the  Jews  as  a  vagabond  sort  of  a  character,  who 
fellowshiped  publicans  and  sinners,  and  made  himself  very 
obnoxious  to  the  prevailing  respectability  of  his  day.  And  so 
we  ought  not  to  shrink  from  the  charge,  but  we  should  meet  it 
by  showing  that  we  have  a  higher  standard  of  respectability 
than  that  which  judges  a  man  by  outward  appearances.  If  a 
belief  in  Spiritualism  brings  comfort  to  the  sorrowing  wife  or 
mother  in  the  hour  of  her  despair,  when  death  has  sealed  the  lips 
of  her  idol,  —  as  we  know  it  does,  we  will  not  trouble  ourselves 
about  its  lack  of  respectability. 


Like  rain  to  the  parched  and  thirsty  earth  are  the  crystal 
drops  of  spiritual  truth  to  the  soul  whose  inner  consciousness 
has  been  awakened  to  its  divine  origin  and  mission.  In  the 
light  of  its  new  day  it  mounts  as  on  eagle  wings  to  the  upper 
air,  where  serene  splendor  and  undiminished  glory  environ  it 
forever  more. 


138  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

THEOSOPHY. 


"  We  want  you  to  come  up  a  little  higher,"  said  a  good 
Theosophist  friend  to  us  the  other  day.  Ah,  but,  we  replied, 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  getting  above  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  great  pleading,  plodding  heart  of  humanity.  There  are 
all  grades  in  life's  great  school.  The  primary  is  the  basis  of 
all  education,  all  culture.  We  cannot  ignore  that.  We  print 
and  preach  for  the  many  —  not  alone  for  the  few.  Already 
some  complain  that  they  cannot  comprehend  the  teachings 
and  claims  of  our  Theosophical  correspondents.  We  spread  a 
table  of  choice  viands,  —  of  "  milk  for  babes,"  and  stronger 
food  for  the  older  grown — of  "  signs  and  wonders"  for  those 
who  require  it,  of  fragments  of  philosophy  for  speculative 
minds,  of  grains  of  golden  wisdom  for  the  highly  unfolded. 
Reach  forth,  dear  reader,  and  help  yourself.  Select  that  best 
suited  to  your  taste,  and  don't  complain.  You  cannot  convert 
a  skeptic  to  the  truths  of  Spiritualism  without  first  demonstrat- 
ing the  fact  of  spirit  existence.  But  once  converted,  we  would 
lead  him  onward  and  upward  into  the  higher  and  brighter 
realms  of  our  beautiful  philosophy. 


Down  from  the  bending  skies,  out  from  the  infinite  ener- 
gies of  space,  around  and  about  us  everywhere,  helping  hands 
and  friendly  influences  are  ever  reaching  to  guide  us  in  the 
better  way  of  life.  It  is  when  our  intuitions  are  dull  to  these 
influences,  and  our  ears  deaf  to  the  gentle  pleadings  of  the 
spirit,  that  we  lose  our  way  amid  the  fogs  and  brambles  of  un- 
worthy things,  and  our  footsteps  are  beguiled  toward  many  a 
dangerous  pitfall. 

Spiritualists  who  denounce  others  for  believing  in  phases 
of  spiritual  phenomena  with  which  they  themselves  are  not  fa- 
miliar, have  no  right  to  complain  of  skeptics  who  deride  their 
claim  to  the  possession  of  spiritual  facts  which  are  not  the 
common  property  of  humanity. 


OUR    FUNERAL    CUSTOMS.  139 

OITK  FUNERAL  CUSTOMS. 


Day  after  day  the  funeral  cortege  moves  slowly  toward 
the  city  of  the  dead.  There  are  the  same  sable  trappings  of 
woe,  the  same  funeral  aspect  of  the  pall-bearers,  the  same 
solemn  visaged  neighbors  and  friends.  And  thus  we  lay  away 
our  dead — the  young  and  the  aged — the  tender  blades  and  the 
ripened  ears.  And  then  we  erect  monuments  to  their  memories, 
which,  a  century  hence,  will  be  regarded  by  the  living  as  a 
precious  waste  of  marble.  Why  seek  thus  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  the  mortal  body,  which,  a  few  years  hence  will  be 
but  a  handful  of  dust?  Nothing  lives  but  the  spirit,  and  naught 
in  the  memory  of  that  should  be  perpetuated  save  its  generous 
promptings  to  noble  deeds.  The  most  elegant  monument  is 
seldom  for  the  most  worthy,  but  rather  for  the  one  whose  mortal 
representatives  possess  the  longest  purse.  After  all,  are  not 
our  funeral  customs  the  outgrowth  of  paganism,  the  same  as 
that  which  filled  the  rocky  cliffs  that  border  the  valley  of  the 
Nile  with  mummies,  and  for  the  same  object — the  possible 
ressurrection  of  the  mortal  body  to  a  renewed  life?  As  we  bring 
ourselves  more  and  more  into  the  life  of  the  spirit,  the  less 
regard  will  we  have  for  the  preservation  of  the  decaying  mass  from 
whence  the  vital  spark  has  flown ;  but  rather  shall  we  not  hasten 
its  restoration,  by  refining  fires,  to  the  elements  whence  it  was 
taken? 


Who  can  account  for  the  infidelity  of  those  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  concerning  the  demonstrations  of  a 
future  life  through  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism?  One 
would  naturally  think  they  would  be  glad  to  prove  what  they 
can  only  hope  for.  They  not  only  deny,  but  will  even  ridicule 
facts  occurring  to-day,  the  counterpart  of  which  occurring  in 
ancient  times,  whereof  their  Scriptures  abound,  they  place  im- 
plicit confidence  in.  Who  can  explain  the  strange  inconsist- 
ency ? 


140  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

WHAT  OF  IT  ? 


Well,  what  of  it  ?  What  if  some  one  has  wronged  you — 
has  abused  your  confidence — has  borne  false  witness  against 
you — has  robbed  you  of  your  earthly  possessions  ?  Can  you 
not  realize  that  the  perpetrator  of  these  unjust  deeds  has 
wronged  himself  far  more  than  he  has  you  ?  All  that  there  is 
of  the  real  you  is  the  soul  that  expresses  itself  through  your 
physical  organism ;  and  that  is  beyond  the  reach  of  harm.  It 
is  helmeted  and  casemated  in  an  impregnable  fortress  of  divin- 
ity, where  it  can  "  smile  at  the  drawn  dagger  and  defy  its 
point."  Whoever  lays  siege  to  this  fortress  beats  his  breast 
against  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  can  harm  or  wound  no  one  but 
himself.  The  injury  your  enemy  may  do  you  can  only  affect 
you  in  outward  and  transitory  things,  never  in  the  interior  and 
real  self — if  you  so  will  it. 


WON'T  COMPLAIN. 


Don't  complain  of  your  lot  in  life ;  you  are  not  nearly  as 
poorly  off  as  you  think  you  are,  however  deficient  of  this  world's 
goods  you  may  be.  The  real  treasures  of  earth  and  heaven  are 
all  yours,  if  you  want  them.  Love  and  honor  are  yours ;  so  also 
are  the  beautiful  stars,  the  bright  sunshine,  the  golden  glory  of 
the  evening  sky,  the  breath  of  the  rose,  the  song  of  the  birds, 
and  the  laughter  of  children.  Can  you  look  into  the  eyes  of 
the  woman  who  loves  you — your  heart's  idol — or  the  face  of 
the  babe  crooning  and  crowing  on  your  knee,  and  say  that  you 
are  not  among  the  favored  ones  of  earth  ?  Accept  your  lot  and 
be  glad.  A  few  days  hence  the  beggar  and  the  king  shall  lie 
down  together.  What  will  be  their  relation  to  each  other  "over 
there?" 


"  Once  upon  a  time  "  there  was  a  rich  man  who  fared 
sumptuously  and  riotously.  He  had  many  mistresses,  and 
openly  boasted  of  his  shame.  In  this  direction  there  was  no 


THE    THANKFUL  WOKM.  141 

depth  of  dishonor  he  had  not  reached.  At  last  he  sickened 
and  died,  long  before  his  allotted  years.  He  passed  on  to 
spirit  life,  leaving  all  his  millions,  with  the  exception  of  a  beg- 
garly trifle,  with  instructions  to  spend  the  last  dollar,  if  neces- 
sary, to  defend  him  in  his  infamy.  Oh,  the  long  years  of  re- 
tribution !  the  agony  and  humility  of  spirit !  the  deep  and  bit- 
ter remorse  !  that  must  come  to  that  erring  spirit  before  it  can 
mount  the  celestial  hights. 


THE  THANKFUL  WO11M. 


We  know  a  man  worth  many  millions  of  dollars,  whose 
boast  it  is  that  he  never  gave  a  dollar  to  any  charitable  purpose 
in  all  his  life.  The  time  will  come  when  in  all  God's  universe 
there  will  be  no  spirit  in  such  great  need  of  charity  as  he.  He 
is  now  nearing  the  border  line  that  separates  him  from  the 
world  of  eternal  verities.  A  few  years  hence,  and  the  only 
living  thing  to  thank  him  for  a  square  meal  will  be  the  worm 
that  banquets  on  his  body.  But  his  spirit,  O  pitying  heavens  I 
in  what  darkness  must  it  grope  for  ages  !  How  strange  it  is  that 
any  man  can  be  found  who  will  take  no  heed  of  the  future  by 
glorifying  the  present.  Here  we  must  do  our  work  and  now, 
for  this  is  the  only  moment  we  can  call  our  own. 


How  little  the  world,  or  even  the  average  Spiritualist,  un- 
derstands the  requisite  conditions  for  good  spirit  manifesta- 
tions. A  member  of  an  eastern  band  organized  to  raid  ma- 
terializing mediums,  who  claims  to  be  a  Spiritualist,  although 
a  disbeliever  in  spirit  materialization,  writes  us  that  he,  with 
others,  has  offered  $1,000  to  any  materializing  medium  who 
will  submit  to  such  conditions  as  he  and  his  band  may  direct  ; 
and,  with  no  one  present  but  themselves,  produce  a  separate 
and  distinct  form  !  Why  not  take  a  Swiss  watch-maker,  turn 
him  loose  with  a  sledge  hammer  in  a  pig  iron  factory,  and  in- 
sist that  he  shall  make  a  fine  chronometer  in  five  minutes  ! 


1^2  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  wise  man  climbs  to  the  higher  levels  of  life  by  his 
mistakes.  He  who  falls  and  rises  again  thereby  gives  evidence 
that  he  possesses  the  metal  of  true  manhood.  Why  should  we 
continue  to  condemn  one  who  has  recovered  his  missteps? 
Jesus  did  not  condemn,  but  simply  admonished  the  fallen  one 
to  "go  and  sin  no  more."  There  are  too  many  people  in  the 
world  puffed  up  with  the  pharisaical  idea  that  they  are  better 
than  their  neighbors,  and  that  their  superior  goodness  is  due  to 
some  superior  excellence  of  their  own.  It  will  be  as  humili- 
ating to  their  pride,  as  it  was  to  that  of  their  illustrious  self- 
righteous  prototypes,  when  the  Master  shall  say  unto  them, 
"Let  him  that  is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone." 

* 

*  * 

"  Did  he  leave  anything?"  That  is  the  inquiry  the  world 
often  makes  concerning  one  who  has  passed  on  to  spirit  life. 
It  is  the  question  which  oftentimes  most  interests  surviving 
kindred.  But  the  question  which  most  concerns  the  departed 
is,  "  Did  he  take  anything  with  him  ?  "  Some  there  are  who, 
dying,  leave  everything.  They  are  to  be  pitied.  Those  who 
leave  most,  in  a  worldly  sense,  are  usually  those  who  take  the 
least  along  with  them.  It  all  depends  upon  the  nature  of  our 
opportunities,  and  the  use  we  make  of  them. 

* 

#  # 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  mere  acceptance  of 
the  phenomenal  facts  of  Spiritualism  and  the  adaptation  of 
one's  physical  and  spiritual  nature  to  the  higher  teachings  of  its 
beautiful  philosophy.  There  are  many  who  never  get  beyond 
the  first  or  phenominal  stage ;  they  have  become  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  spirit  return,  and  there  they  remain.  The  lessons 
of  charity,  temperance,  benevolence,  brotherly  love,  purity  of 
life  and  conduct,  etc.,  that  come  from  the  spirit  world,  make 
but  little  impression  upon  their  lives.  This  is  not  the  fault  of 
the  fact,  but  of  the  nature  that  lacks  the  disposition  to  adjust 
itself  to  the  fact. 


DOES    PROHIBITION    PROHIBIT?  143 

DOES   PROHIBITION  PROHIBIT? 


"  Does  prohibition  prohibit?"  is  one  of  the  mooted  ques- 
tions that  come  uppermost  in  all  communities  where  the  tem- 
perance agitation  has  obtained  a  foothold.  We  should  natur- 
ally answer  that  prohibition  does  prohibit.  If  it  does  not,  then 
it  is  not  prohibition.  We  would  that  we  could  always  give  the 
same  affirmative  answer  to  that  other  question,  Does  Spiritual- 
ism spiritualize  ?  The  fact  that  in  very  many  instances  a  be- 
lief in  the  facts  and  philosophy  of  Spiritualism  does  not  spirit- 
ualize to  any  considerable  extent,  is  evident  from  the  wrang- 
ling ffnd  inharmony  so  common  among  Spiritualists,  or  those 
who  call  themselves  such.  With  the  beautiful  teachings  of 
bright  and  enlightened  spirits  constantly  before  them,  Spiritual- 
ists ought  really  to  be  the  most  kind  hearted,  charitable  and 
forgiving  people  in  the  world.  While  we  are  glad  to  know 
that  some  of  them  are  thus,  yet  many,  to  our  humiliation,  be 
it  spoken,  are  not.  We  would  that  all  possessed  more  of  the 
Christ  spirit. 


We  have  no  time  to  waste  in  unprofitable  bickerings,  or 
useless  explanations.  We  should  ever  strive  to  live  in  a 
realm  of  thought  currents  that  lead  only  to  the  All  Good. 
Though  clouds  and  shadows  hover  over  the  valleys,  the  sun 
shines  bright  and  clear  at  the  mountain  top.  Thither  our 
pathway  leads,  and  the  angels  of  the  bending  skies  ever  invite 

us  upward. 

* 
*  * 

The  worm  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  neither  is  it  partic- 
ularly aesthetic  in  its  tastes.  The  cheek  of  innocent  maiden- 
hood furnishes  no  daintier  morsel  than  the  hardened  sinews 
of  age.  All  is  corruption,  when  once  the  spirit  steps  forth  dis- 
enthralled. There  is  nothing  permanent  in  matter  —  all  is 
change  and  decay.  The  spirit  only  shall  live  forever  —  in  light 
or  darkness,  as  we  will. 


144  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  theology  of  the  past,  that  robbed  life  of  all  its  sun- 
shine, and  filled  the  world  with  sadness  and  tears,  is  giving 
way,  in  the  light  of  the  Spiritual  Philosophy,  to  a  brighter  and 
more  cheerful  outlook  upon  existence.  The  good  Father,  surely, 
does  not  want  his  children  to  go  "mourning  all  their  days." 
He  cannot  wish  that  they  should  be  willing  to  be  damned  for 
His  glory,  but  rather  that  they  should  endeavor  to  gather  into 
their  lives  all  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  creation.  For  what 
has  He  clad  the  earth  with  verdure,  and  surrounded  it  with  the 
breath  of  His  love,  but  to  lead  the  children  of  His  creation 
into  ways  of  pleasantness.  If  we  make  this  life  full  of  joy 
there  will  be  no  room  for  sorrow  here,  or  hereafter. 

*  * 

It  may  be  asked,  if  none  but  initiates,  or  experienced 
investigators  in  the  higher  physical  manifestations  of  psychic 
phenomena  are  to  be  admitted  to  seances  for  the  development 
of  the  psychic  form,  how  is  any  one  to  be  convinced  of  the 
truth  thereof?  Conviction  will  come  with  spiritual  unfoldment, 
and  experience  in  the  less  startling  phases  of  the  phenomena. 
The  seeker  after  psychical  knowledge  should  not  be  too  eager 
to  grasp  all  truth  at  once.  He  should  at  least  learn  his  alphabet 
before  endeavoring  to  branch  out  in  logic  or  the  higher  mathe- 
matics. It  is  well  to  study  the  philosophy  of  the  spirit  rap, 
or  the  nature  of  the  trance,  before  endeavoring  to  take  in  the 
psychic  form. 

*  * 

After  all  that  may  be  said  or  written  upon  the  subject  of 
psychic  phenomena — accounts  of  wonderful  individual  experi- 
ences, etc., — every  one  must  settle  the  matter  for  himself.  No 
revelation  to  A  can  quite  satisfy  B,  however  much  confidence 
the  latter  may  have  in  the  honesty  or  powers  of  discernment  of 
the  former.  He  must  know  for  himself.  The  mind  is  so  con- 
stituted that  it  cannot  accept  the  evidence  of  others  in  aught 
that  relates  to  the  seemingly  incredible. 


DISCIPLINE    OF    EVIL.  145 

DISCIPLINE  OF  EVII,. 


How  many  events  and  circumstances  in  this  world  which 
we  look  upon  at  the  time  of  their  occurence  as  serious  evils — 
sickness,  the  loss  of  loved  ones,  business  reverses,  etc., — do 
we  not  come  in  time  to  regard  as  blessings  in  disguise  ?  From 
this  fact  may  we  not  reasonaby  conclude  that  all  seeming  evils 
and  misfortunes  that  come  to  us  are  wisely  intended  for  our 
good  ;  in  other  words,  that  behind  and  through  all  evil  there 
shines  and  permeates  the  rays  of  a  Divine  Good  ?  Man  needs 
the  discipline  of  temptation  and  misfortune  more  than  he  can 
know.  He  needs  the  lash  of  the  results  of  his  own  follies, 
often,  to  teach  him  wisdom.  What  kind  of  limp  and  nerve- 
less clods  we  should  be  without  the  hard  experiences  this  life 
affords.  Let  us  then  accept  the  cup,  though  bitter  it  be.  We 
shall  be  all  the  better  for  it  some  time. 

Evil  disappears  from  the  undeveloped  human  nature  just 
in  proportion  as  the  good  predominates  therein.  Then  the  true 
way  to  uplift  humanity  is  not  by  fighting  the  evil,  but  by 
encouraging  and  developing  the  good.  No  man  was  ever  made 
better  by  abuse,  or  unkindness  of  any  kind,  and  none  was  ever 
made  to  see  the  error  of  his  way  by  ridicule.  When,  O  when, 
ye  would-be  educators  and  reformers  of  the  race,  will  ye  learn 
this  fact ! 


* 
*  * 


The  higher  phenomenal  phases  of  Spiritualism  should  be 
reserved  exclusively -for  the  initiate — that  is,  for  those  whose 
perception  of  truth  has  been  so  far  unfolded  as  to  enable  them 
to  discern  "the  things  of  the  spirit."  The  pyschic  form  is 
not  for  those  who  can  not  accept  it.  In  fact,  the  presence  of 
one  inharmonious  person  in  a  seance  room,  unless  largely 
counterbalanced  by  harmonious  elements,  will  cause  a  vibra- 
tion, or  disturbance  of  the  nice  conditions  essential  to  good  re- 
sults, and  perhaps  prevent  the  manifestations  altogether. 


146  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

There  is  no  more  independent  class  of  thinkers  in  exist- 
ence than  Spiritualists.  To  some,  it  makes  no  sort  of  differ- 
ence what  others  claim  to  know,  they  will  argue  with  the  know- 
ing ones  as  persistently  as  will  the  skeptic  against  what  they 
themselves  claim  to  know,  to  convince  the  former  that  they 
are  mistaken.  For  instance,  some  one  claims  to  have  had 
positive  evidence  of  a  certain  phase  of  psychic  phenomena 
with  which  some  one  else  is  not  familiar.  Straightway  the 
latter  denies  that  any  such  phenomena  could  possibly  occur, 
wholly  forgetting  that  his  own  claims  to  knowledge  upon  other 
phases  of  the  same  class  of  phenomena  appear  just  as  unreason- 
able to  the  skeptic.  And  so  we  go  ! 

•*  * 

It  is  utterly  useless  to  thrust  our  facts  or  philosophy  upon 
persons  not  ready  to  receive  them.  The  fallow  ground  of  the 
heart  must  be  ready  to  receive  the  seed  before  there  can  be 
any  prospect  of  fruition.  "But,"  you  may  ask,  "would  you 
hide  your  light  under  a  bushel?  "  By  no  means.  There  are 
hearts  everywhere  hungry  for  the  truth.  All  such  are  ready  to 
be  fed.  "  Feed  my  lambs"  said  Jesus.  He  did  not  say,  "  Go 
catch  my  goats  and  force  them  to  eat  of  the  bread  of  life." 
"Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive."  There  must  first  come  the  con- 
dition of  mind  that  prompts  one  to  ask,  then  will  he  receive. 

Can  the  man  who  doles  out  to  his  wife,  with  reprimands 
for  her  extravagance,  a  moity  of  what  is  her  just  due  as  an  equal 
partner  in  the  firm,  or  of  what  he  spends  for  his  own  personal 
gratification,  have  anyone  but  himself  to  blame  when  his  chil- 
dren grow  up  to  be  thieves — made  so  by  the  pre-natal  impulse 
of  the  mother  to  help  herself  to  a  little  needed  change  from  her 
husband's  pockets,  while  he  is  asleep?  The  child  born  in  an 
atmosphere  of  just,  generous,  and  loving  thoughts,  starts  out 
with  a  heaven  in  this  life  accomplished,  and  not  with  a  hell  to 
overcome. 


NATURES    WORKS.  147 

NATURE'S   WORKS. 


How  exquisite  in  design  are  all  of  Nature's  works  T 
None  of  them  are  too  insignificant  for  the  display  of  infinite 
skill  and  wisdom  in  their  construction.  In  all  her  marvellous- 
methods  and  varieties  she  slights  nothing,  leaves  nothing 
unfinished  or  incomplete  in  this  life,  save  and  except 
man  himself,  and  she  will  make  a  perfect  job  of  him  before 
she  is  through  with  him.  She  weaves  into  the  butterfly's  wing 
the  azure  and  the  gold  of  her  sunsets,  and  she  paints  the  lily 
and  the  rose  with  the  glory  of  her  blushing  dawns.  And  then 
how  nicely  she  adapts  means  to  ends.  The  mole  blindly  bur- 
rowing beneath  the  sod,  the  sea  bird  skimming  the  mighty 
wastes  of  ocean,  the  cricket  drumming  its  love  notes  at  the 
hush  of  day — all  are  cared  for  as  fondly  and  tenderly  as  the  mother 
cares  for  her  babe.  What  a  field  for  study — what  suggestions  of 
Masterly  Purpose  in  the  plan  of  the  universe  !  How  can  mart 
grovel  in  lowly  thoughts  and  things,  in  a  world  of  such  match- 
less splendor  and  possibilities  as  this  ! 


There  is  a  nameless  force  that  goes  out  at  times  with 
human  utterance,  that  gives  to  the  spoken  word  a  per- 
suasive power  never  dreamed  of  at  other  times  and  under 
other  conditions.  This  subtle  force  may  be  regarded  as  the 
"  sword  of  the  spirit."  It  is  not  always  so  much  what  one 
says  that  touches  the  heart  and  the  understanding,  but  how  it 
is  said,  and  the  spirit  force  that  goes  with  it.  This  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  senseless  exhortations  formerly  indulged  in  at 
old  style  religious  revival  meetings,  urging  sinners  to  the 

"mourners'  seat.'' 

* 
*  * 

The  Spiritualist  who  earnestly  and  industriously  sets  him- 
self at  the  task  of  developing  his  own  spiritual  powers,  and 
thereby  bringing  the  spirit  world  into  his  own  life,  has  begun 
to  learn  what  true  Spiritualism  means. 


I-|8  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

No  criminal  was  ever  made  better  by  punishment,  and  no 
wrong-doer  by  abuse.  We  can  benefit  the  erring  only  by 
strengthening  their  moral  natures — by  building  them  up  in 
good  purposes,  and  calling  them  out  on  the  higher  planes  of 
their  being.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  as  a  labor  of 
love.  Whoever  seeks  to  drive  men  into  better  ways  of  life 
lias  his  labor  for  his  pains  ;  not  only  that,  he  hardens  his  own 
nature,  filling  his  spirit  with  all  unkindness  and  bitterness. 

*** 

<(I  don't  know,  "is  the  language  of  honest  doubt;  "I  know  you 
don't  know,"  that  of  intolerant  bigotry.  Why  can't  we  respect  each 
other  in  all  matters  of  opinion,  even  remembering  that  what 
none  of  us  know  is  to  the  sum  of  our  absolute  knowledge,  as 
the  big,  blazing  sun  to  the  mote  basking  in  its  rays.  Let  us 
delight  to  differ,  and  love  each  other  in  our  differences.  If  we 
all  thought  precisely  alike,  life  would  be  too  flat  and  insipid 
for  healthy  growth. 

:•:  '  :•: 

Someone  has  wisely  said  :  'The  danger  of  riches  increas- 
^'es  with  their  increase.  Abundance  serves  not  as  water  to 
"quench,  but  as  fuel  to  augment  the  fire  of  covetousness."  And 
so  the  acquisitive  man  comes  in  time  to  think  that  the  more 
he  has,  the  more  he  needs ;  and  this  thought  is  apt  to  cling  to 
him  long  after  he  has  accumulated  vastly  more  than  he  can 
wisely  use  for  his  own  needs,  even  down  to  the  last  hour  of 
mortal  existence.  But  is  it  the  best  thought  to  carry  into  the 

other  life? 

•# 

*     :f: 

"The  light  on  the  path,"  is  the  light  that  shines  down  into 
one's  own  spirit  from  the  source  of  all  light,  and  radiates  out- 
ward to  illumine  other  souls,  and  mark  the  way  that  they  should 
go.  Who  walks  by  this  light,  can  not  stumble  or  go  astray.  It 
will  guide  him  safely  to  his  Father's  house,  "where  the  many 
mansions  be." 


THE    LEAVEN    WORKING  149 

THE  LEAVEN  WORKING. 

We  apprehend  the  time  is  not  distant  when  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  Spiritualism  will  be  generally  accepted  by  the 
churches — when  the  evidences  of  spirit  existence  and  return 
will  be  as  familiar  to  church  members  and  to  Christian  preach- 
ers, even,  as  they  now  are  to  thousands  outside  the  pale  of  the 
Church.  Then  the  churches  will  be  compelled  to  remodel 
their  creeds  to  fit  the  higher  order  of  truth,  as  presented  from 
the  spirit  world,  or  else  to  drop  out  of  existence  altogether. 
Already  the  leaven  of  this  new  and  brighter  gospel  is  working, 
even  to  the  rendering  and  tearing  assunder  of  all  old  notions 
and  ideas  whose  claim  to  veneration  depends  mainly  upon  their 
antiquity.  Evangelical  Christianity  is  nothing  like  as  tyrannical 
or  intolerant  as  it  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago;  at  least,  its  hold 
upon  the  public  conscience  is  nothing  like  as  binding.  Even 
the  Church  of  Rome,  that  not  long  ago  placed  its  foot  upon 
the  necks  of  kings,  and  gave  its  adherents  the  choice  of  absolute 
obedience  or  the  stake,  can  not  now  coerce  one  poor  priest, 
who,  like  Father  McGlynn,  chooses  to  defy  its  power. 


Happiness  is  a  condition  of  the  spirit  —  a  something  that 
belongs  within, — and  is  dependent  only  to  a  very  limited  ex- 
tent, if  at  all,  upon  externals.  Martyrs  have  gone  to  the  stake 
with  their  souls  aflame  with  gladness,  while  kings,  with  the 
plentitude  of  earth  at  their  command,  have  moped  in  melan- 
choly misery.  There  is  more  solid  comfort  in  an  ounce  of 
contentment,  than  in  all  the  wealth  of  the  Rothschilds.  The 
happiness  that  is  dependent  upon  wealth,  can  last  only  while 
the  wealth  lasts.  There  will  come  a  time  when  the  check 
of  the  millionaire  will  not  purchase  the  handles  to  his  coffin. 
Then  what  ? 


* 
*  * 


When  you  wake  up,  dear  reader,   in  the  morning  of  that 
new  day,  to  a  consciousness  that   you   have   crossed   the  river 


150  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS, 

of  death,  and  that  all  of  your  earth  life,  with  its  accomplished 
good  or  ill,  is  behind  you  forevermore,  what  condition  of  the 
spirit  do  you  imagine  will  then  afford  you  the  largest  meas- 
ure of  satisfaction  ?  Will  it  be,  do  you  think,  the  realization 
jof  the  good  you  might  have  done  to  your  fellow  beings,  but 
did  not?  How  empty  and  vain  will  then  appear  the  "pomp- 
and  circumstance"  of  earth,  the  bauble  of  wealth — the  tinsel 
and  sham  of  fashion,  and  the  mockery  of  fame  !  Only  the 
pure  gold  of  character  will  be  current  "over  there." 


No  man  should  boast  of  his  superior  powers  of  body  or 
intellect.  Neither  his  strength  nor  his  greatness  may  be  due  to 
any  virtue  of  his  own.  His  very  superiority  should  teach  him 
modesty,  and  make  him  graciously  careful  not  to  wound  the 
feelings  of  his  inferiors.  We  should  accept  our  lot  and  be 
thankful,  ever  seeking  to  make  the  best  possible  use  of  all  our 
God-given  faculties. 

* 

If  the  man  who  imagines  that  he  has  a  "call"  to  make 
light  of  the  honest  opinions  and  convictions  of  others,  or  to  set 
himself  up  in  judgment  of  the  faults  and  failings  of  others, 
could  only  see  himself  as  he  is  seen  by  the  wise  ones  on  the 
other  side  of  life,  he  would  blush  with  humility  and  shame  at 
his  own  vaunting  temerity.  "Physician,  heal  thyself,"  is  an 
old  adage  that  all  who  start  out  to  correct  the  faults  of  others 
should  ever  consider.  A  noble  example  is  the  best  teacher ! 

*  * 

Wealth  builds  its  palaces  as  though  its  tenants  would" 
occupy  them  forever.  It  shuts  itself  in  from  the  great  world  of 
humanity,  of  which,  in  the  order  of  nature,  it  is  a  part,  and  to- 
which  it  owes  its  very  existence.  And  for  what,  and  for  how 
long?  An  empty  shadow  and  a  day.  Death  laughs  at  all  human 
distinction.  The  worm  finds  no  daintier  food  in  the  king  than 
in  the  beggar.  There  is  no  monopoly  of  sweetness  in  corruption- 


PASSING    ON.  151 

PASSING    ON. 


Ten  years  ago  we  knew  a  sweet  young  girl,  beautiful,, 
gentle  and  graceful,  just  launching  out  on  the  sea  of  married 
life.  The  home  of  her  parents  and  our  own  joined,  and  we 
had  seen  her  almost  daily  from  infancy.  She  was  the  idol  of 
her  home,  and  a  great  favorite  among  all  her  acquaintances.  At 
her  marriage  she  moved  to  a  distant  town,  and  we  henceforth 
heard  of  her  only  occasionally.  Children  came  to  her, — one, 
two,  three,  four, — and  the  bearing  of  these,  with  other  of  life's 
vicissitudes,  wrought  sad  havoc  with  her  health.  A  few  days 
ago  we  stood  by  the  bedside  of  a  pale,  delicate  little  woman, 
rapidly  fading  away.  She  stood  on  the  very  verge  of  the  river's 
brink,  conscious  that  only  a  few  days  more  of  mortal  existence 
remained  for  her.  We  could  hardly  realize  that  the  bright, 
young  girl  of  ten  years  ago  and  the  fragile  woman  before  us 
were  one  and  the  same  person.  We  talked  to  her  of  the  beau- 
tiful spirit  world  just  before  her,  and  assured  her  that  death  was 
only  a  gentle  sleep  from  which  her  spirit,  removed  from  the 
poor  sick  body,  would  awaken  with  rapturous  delight,  in  the 
arms  of  a  loving  father,  who  had  passed  on  before  her,  and 
whose  spirit  we  both  felt  to  be  present.  Ah  !  what  a  comfort  is 
the  knowledge  of  the  glorious  truths  of  Spiritualism  to  those  who 
are  nearing  the  great  change. 


One  whose  desire  is  ever  for  the  highest  good  in  his  own 
life — whose  aspirations  are  ever  upreaching — never  has  to  rely 
wholly  upon  his  own  powers.  He  will  be  met  half  way  by 
some  down-reaching  spirit  from  the  higher  spheres  to  aid  him 
onward  and  upward.  There  are  always  those  ready  to  respond 
to  the  spirit's  needs,  when  earnestly  sought  for. 

*  * 

There  is  but  little  difference  between  the  teachings  and 
practices  of  the  early  Christians  and  the  teachings  and  practi- 
ces of  modern  Spiritualism.  The  former  taught  a  gospel  of 


152  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

love  to  God  and  good  will  to  man.  The  latter  teach  the  lov- 
ing fellowship  of  all  humanity,  believing  that  in  the  practice  of 
that  virtue  they  can  render  to  their  Creator  the  highest  possi- 
ble service.  The  former  healed  the  sick  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands.  Wherein  does  the  treatment  of  the  sick  in  these  days 
by  animal  or  spirit  magnetism  differ  from  that  of  Christ  and 
his  disciples?  "Greater  things  shall  ye  do,"  said  the  Master  ; 
and  surely  the  time  is  rapidly  coming  when  these  "  greater 
things  "  shall  appear  —  if  they  have  not  already. 


"If  you  could  see  the  dark  aura  that  envelops  some  per- 
sons," says  a  faith  ful  spirit  worker  in  our  own  home,  "you  would 
feel  like  fleeing  from  their  presence."  It  is  well  we  can  not  see, 
for  then  we  might  shrink  from  the  performance  of  duties  where 
they  were  most  needed.  Spirits  see  and  feel  this  aura,  and  are 
attracted  toward,  or  repelled  by  mortals  in  proportion  as  their 
own  spiritual  natures  are  pure  or  impure,  or  correspond  with 
those  into  whose  atmosphere  they  come. 


* 

*  # 


The  exercise  of  brotherly  love,  charity  for  all,  and  good 
will  towards  the  most  undeveloped  fellow-spirit,  is  the  only 
means  of  subduing  the  baser  promptings  of  one's  own  nature. 
Unkindness,  jealousy,  envy,  selfishness,  and  unjust  suspicion, 
constitute  the  deadly  nightshade  of  the  heart,  which,  if  allowed 
to  live  and  grow,  will  so  poison  the  springs  of  happiness  in  one's 
own  soul  that  all  of  its  future  will  be  saddened  thereby.  Over- 
come these  evils,  O  brother,  and  refresh  thy  soul  with  the 
beautiful  sunlight  of  Divine  Goodness. 

:'f- 
•••:     * 

The  fraud  or  dishonesty  that  injures  only  its  perpetrator 
is  far  less  to  be  deplored  than  the  thought  or  act  that  seeks 
another's  injury.  While  the  first  should  never  be  condoned, 
the  latter  cannot  be  too  earnestly  condemned.  He  who  would 
commit  either  needs  the  uplifting  light  of  truth  in  his  soul. 


COMFORT  OF  SPIRIT 
COMFORT  OF  SPIRIT  COMMUNION. 


No  one  can  appreciate  the  value  and  comfort  of  spirit 
communion  so  well  as  the  man  or  woman  whose  spiritual 
eyes  have  been  opened  to  the  light,  and  who  can  see  and 
know  for  themselves.  Who  would  close  the  doors  of  the 
heart  to  the  wise  and  loving  teacher  and  friend  from  the  spirit 
side  of  life,  who  can  make  his  presence  known  in  the  home 
circle,  and  who  comes  to  inspire,  to  heal,  to  encourage,  and  in 
every  helpful  way  to  assist  each  member  of  that  home  in  bear- 
ing the  burdens  of  life  ?  There  is  many  a  home  in  this  great 
city,  and  throughout  the  land,  that  is  blessed  with  such  a  faith- 
ful companion  and  guide.  The  shining  ones  are  ever  knock- 
ing at  the  doors  of  mortal  hearts,  but  as  yet  there  are  but  few 
to  bid  them  enter  in,  and  they  go  away  grieved. 

—Jo: — 

The  great  mistake  of  all  churchmen,  of  whatever  sect,  is 
in  imagining  that  they  possess,  in  their  religious  systems,  a 
monopoly  of  all  spiritual  truth.  As  though  the  revelation  of 
spiritual  truths  to  the  world  ceased  with  the  advent  of  Jesusj 
and  that  henceforth  and  forevermore,  man  must  take  his  gospel 
knowledge  at  second  hand.  The  discovery  of  this  mistake, 
and  the  adjustment  of  multitudes  of  the  race  to  the  new  order 
of  things,  is  what  disturbs  the  little  souls  of  an  effete  ecclesi- 
asticism,  and  causes  the  "heathen  to  rage "  against  Spiritualism 


"Words,  idle  words!"  are  all  discussions  with  those  who, 
not  wishing  the  truth  for  themselves,  seek  to  convince  you  of 
your  error  !  We  have  no  time  to  waste  with  such.  It  is  not  the 
skeptic  who  does  not  care  to  be  convinced,  but  the  heart  athirst 
for  the  living  waters  of  Spiritualism,  that  we  care  to  bother  with. 


* 

r     * 


Life  is  barren  or  fruitful  just  in  proportion  as  it  is  made 
a  help  and  blessing  to  others.  No  one  can  live  wholly  to  him- 
self without  dwarfing  his  own  nature. 


HJ4  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

It  is  the  disposition  of  writers  for  the  spiritualistic  press 
to  be  forever  criticising  each  other's  opinions,  that  keeps  our 
cause  in  such  a  constant  state  of  ferment.  What  is  a  writer's 
opinion  upon  any  subject  but  simply  his  or  her  own  opinion  ? 
— nothing  more.  No  one  is  bound  to  accept  it,  and  no  one  is 
specially  called  to  refute  it.  If  A  wants  to  believe  in  re- 
embodiment,  or  the  doctrine  of  Karma,  and  B  in  the  evolu- 
tionary theory  of  creation,  or  the  divinity  of  Christ,  why  make 
a  fuss  about  it,  and  question  their  honesty  or  sanity  ?  The 
main  thing  with  every  Spiritualist  is  to  be  sure  of  the  sound- 
ness of  his  own  opinion.  He  will  then  borrow  less  trouble 
concerning  those  of  his  neighbor. 

*  * 

If  we  would  come  into  full  possession  of  the  truth — enjoy  to 
our  best  the  beautiful  teachings  of  Spiritualism — we  must 
place  ourselves  in  a  proper  spiritual  attitude.  By  aspiration, 
by  the  practice  of  generous  deeds,  and  by  the  exercise  of  that 
God-given  grace  of  all  graces,  charity,  we  can  attune  our  lives 
to  the  divine  harmony,  and  prepare  our  souls  to  enjoy  the  an- 
gelic melody  and  harmony  that  come  of  a  well  ordered  life. 

Love  is  the  nimbus  of  the  spirit,  the  white  light  in  which 
every  flower  of  virtue  and  goodness  unfolds  and  exhales  its 
sweetest  fragrance.  The  clairvoyant  can  discern  this  light 
and  therein  read  the  character  of  those  within  whose  atmos- 
phere they  may  come.  Spiritualists  should  seek  to  develop 
this  light  in  their  own  spirits.  It  is  not  a  difficult  task  to 
whoever  earnestly  seeks  for  it.  It  comes  with  the  exercise  of 
kind  thoughts  and  the  practice  of  generous  deeds. 

*  * 

He  who  would  start  out  on  the  search  for  evil  should 
first  turn  his  lantern  fairly  upon  himself.  After  he  has  ex- 
hausted the  subject  in  that  direction,  he  will  be  apt  to  have 
no  heart  for  pursuing  the  search  further. 


HOW    LITTLE    WE    KNOW.  155 

HOW  LITTLE  WE  KNOW. 


How  very  little  we  know  of  ourselves,  or  of  the  universe 
of  matter  and  spirit  around  us.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  an 
eternity  of  mysterious  forces  and  laws,  of  which  we  can  scarce- 
ly know  the  alphabet.  Our  very  littleness  and  insignificance 
should  make  us  humble  and  teachable.  We  cannot  explain 
the  marvellous  force  that  holds  us  to  this  planet,  rolling  as  it 
does,  forever  through  the  mighty  voids  of  space.  We  cannot 
tell  why  we  exist,  or  why  we  love  or  hate.  We  know  not 
whence  we  came,  or  whither  we  go.  Only  here  and  there  do 
we  catch  a  glimmer  of  light  in  the  eternal  dark  that  well  nigh 
overwhelms  us.  Let  us  keep  the  eyes  of  our  spirits  open  for 
the  faintest  ray,  ever  believing  it  will  show  us  the  way  to  safe 
anchorage  in  the  haven  of  rest. 


What  grand  lessons  of  life  and  duty,  what  sublime  princi- 
ples of  enriched  manhood,  of  abiding  trust,  of  upright  and 
noble  living,  do  we  not  hear  continually  from  our  spirit  helpers 
and  friends,  through  lips  touched  with  their  inspiration.  Who 
lives  up  to  their  teachings  will  live  as  close  to  the  heart  of  God 
as  it  is  well  possible  to  get  The  fault  is  not  in  Spiritualism,  but 
in  ourselves,  that  Spiritualists  are  not  always  exactly  what  they 

should  be. 

* 
*  * 

The  infinite  tenderness  of  a  mother's  love  !  What  is 
there  in  all  God's  universe  of  soul  so  beautiful  and  pure?  And 
yet  there  are  children  who  treat  it  so  lightly  and  indifferently 
that  they  would  prefer  to  follow  the  dark  ways  of  life  to  their 
sad  ending,  than  to  be  guided  by  its  pure  rays  to  a  heaven  of 
rest  and  happiness.  Such  is  one  of  the  strange  mysteries  of 
human  nature. 

*** 

Until  one's  own  nature  becomes  dominated  by  the  spirit 
of  love  and  good  will  for  his  fellow-beings — until  he  becomes 


156  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Christ  principle — he  is  unfit  to 
teach  others  in  the  better  way  of  life.  He  may  denounce  the 
wrong-doer,  and  receive  the  plaudits  of  his  kind  therefor,  but 
he  only  hardens  the  former  in  his  evil  course,  and  does  him- 
self a  serious  injury. 

"What  shall  the  harvest  be?"  What  shall  it  be,  young 
man,  with  you,  who  are  sowing  the  seeds  of  dissipation  in  the 
fruitful  soil  of  your  life?  Will  it  be  a  harvest  of  tares,  or  of 
precious  corn?  In  every  life  there  comes  a  reckoning  some- 
time ;  it  is  the  harvest  time — the  gathering  in  of  the  sheaves. 
What  empty  granaries  of  character  we  see  on  every  hand — 
men  and  woman  "going  home"  from  their  life  labor,  with  no 
song  of  gladness  upon  their  lips.  They  have  sown  to  the  wind ; 
they  will  now  reap  the  whirlwind  of  everlasting  regret.  Let  it 
not  be  said  of  you,  O  mortal,  with  the  wealth  of  golden  oppor- 
tunity in  your  possession. 


* 
*  * 


We  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  if  there  was  less  liberty 
in  this  country,  there  would  be  much  more  honesty.  Then  the 
grocer  would  not  sand  his  sugar,  or  sell  his  butter  thirteen 
ounces  for  a  pound.  The  coal  dealer  would  hardly  presume 
to  sell  eighteen  hundred-weight  of  coal  for  a  ton,  and  the  merchant 
would  at  least  approximate  the  truth,  because  he  would  be 
compelled  to.  It  is  hardly  safe  to  entrust  the  average  American 
citizen  with  the  liberty  he  is  permitted  to  enjoy  in  this  country ; 
and  yet  we  ought  to  give  the  "experiment"  a  fair  trial  before 
we  concede  the  mistake. 


•I: 
*     * 


What  matters  it  to  the  one  who  knows  better — to  him 
whose  communion  with  the  spirit  world  brings  sweetest  happi- 
ness and  purest  thoughts  and  aspirations — how  much  the 
skeptic  may  doubt,  or  the  ignorant  may  ridicule !  He  is 
anchored  to  a  mighty  truth  that  will  hold  him  steadfast  to  duty 
in  this  life,  and  give  him  peace  and  happiness. 


SURER    ROADS    TO    EMINENCE.  157 

SURElt  ROADS  TO  EMINENCE. 


Brainy  young  men  do  not  take  to  the  cloth  now  as  they 
did  forty  years  ago.  They  find  surer  roads  to  eminence  in  law 
or  literature.  Nearly  all  of  our  bright  preachers  now-a-days 
are  past  the  meridian  of  life.  Modern  skepticism,  enforced 
by  enlightened  science,  is  too  great  a  stumbling  block  for  a 
thinking  young  man  to  venture  to  overcome.  He  naturally 
drifts  with  the  skeptics,  and  leaves  the  evangelical  ministry  to  an 
inferior  order  of  minds.  The  average  theological  student  of 
to-day  is  not  calculated  to  "set  the  world  on  fire."  He  must 
be  dumb  to  the  voice  of  Progress  to  imagine  that  the  world  will 
longer  subscribe  to  the  .dogmas  of  the  church,  founded  as  most 
of  them  are  on  fables  no  more  substantial  than  those  of  the 
Arabian  Nights. 

A  gentle,  white-souled,  loving  woman — what  is  there  in 
all  the  universe  to  compare  with  her,  unless  it  be  the  very 
angels  who  walk  the  flower- decked  ways  of  eternal  glory.  Her 
presence  in  the  home  of  poverty  and  want,  by  the  sick  bed,  in 
all  the  walks  of  life,  is  ever  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction. 
She  leaves  a  trail  of  light  behind  her,  and  fills  the  air  with  the 
aroma  of  heaven.  As  a  wife,  a  mother,  a  friend,  a  comforter 
in  sorrow,  she  is  all  perfect.  She  wears  on  her  white  brow  the 
royal  insignia  of  angelhood,  "and  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven/1 

Notwithstanding  all  the  hindrances  to  the  advancement  of 
Spiritualism,  it  is,  nevertheless,  rapidly  and  steadily  making  its 
way  to  hearts  hungering  for  the  evidence  of  immortal  life.  It 
gives  a  silver  lining  to  the  cloud  of  sorrow  that  hovers  over 
the  living  in  the  hour  of  their  mortal  bereavement.  It  dries 
their  tears,  and  bids  them  to  wait  patiently  the  last  change  that 
shall  open  the  gate  to  the  heavenly  mansions  where  their  loved 
ones  dwell. 


158  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

There  is  a  wonderful  spiritual  force  in  the  universe  work- 
ing to  the  uplifting  of  the  human  race.  Those  only  who  place 
themselves  in  the  current  of  this  force,  and  come  in  rapport 
with  the  pulsating  intelligence  behind  it,  can  realize  to  any  ex- 
tent its  mighty  energy.  Armed  with  this  power,  (which  is 
something  akin  to  the  vril  spoken  of  by  Bulwer  in  his  "  Com- 
ing Race,")  one  man  becomes  a  host  in  the  struggle  between 
right  and  wrong,  or  in  the  accomplishment  of  any  worthy  end. 
It  is  thus  he  becomes  "  one  with  God,"  which  is  always  a 
majority,  and  always  victorious.  Reformers  should  strive  for 
this  power,  if  they  would  dominate  the  world  and  lift  man  to 
.a  higher  plane. 

*** 

Shakespeare  makes  that  strange  puzzle,  Hamlet,  say  to 
his  bosom  friend,  Horatio:  "Give  me  that  man  that  is  not 
•"  passion's  slave  and  I  will  wear  him  in  my  heart's  core,  ay,  in 
•"  my  heart  of  heart,  as  I  do  thee."  Indeed,  what  is  there 
more  grand  in  all  the  universe  than  a  self-poised,  clean-souled 
tnan — one  that  has  complete  mastery  over  himself — of  his  ap- 
petites, passions,  and  all  hurtful  habits — one  who  can  look  his 
fellow  man  square  in  the  eye,  and  whose  nature  at  all  times 
bubbles  over  with  generous  impulses  and  kind  thoughts. 
"  Are  there  such  men,"  do  you  ask  ?  Aye,  many  ;  and  grand 
and  noble  women,  too,  whose  goodness  makes  them  but  little 
less  than  angels.  Indeed,  they  are  angels. 

* 
*  * 

It  is  said  that  to  a  person  drowning  all  the  events  of  his 
life  pass  in  panoramic  array  before  his  vision — no  sin  that  he 
has  covered  up,  no  wrong  that  he  has  ever  done,  is  withheld, — 
and  he  sees  himself  just  as  he  is,  in  the  light  of  his  quickened 
faculties.  Such,  no  doubt,  is  the  case  with  the  risen  spirit.  In 
the  clearer  perceptions  of  the  spirit,  disentangled  from  the 
mortal  body,  he  sees  himself  as  he  really  is — is  brought  face  to 
face  with  every  wrong  act  of  his  life,  with  every  unkind  word 


PRAYER.  159 

he  ever  uttered,  and  is  thus  made  to  understand  his  responsi- 
bility therefor,  and  the  course  he  must  pursue  to  put  himself  in 
harmony  with  the  law  of  progression,  and  undo  the  mischief 
he  has  wrought. 


PRAYER. 

There  is  a  sense  of  helplessness  and  weakness  that  comes 
over  the  soul,  in  times  of  great  sorrow  and  desolation,  that 
naturally  prompts  one  to  pray  for  comfort  and  strength  to  that 
Unknown  Mystery  we  call  God.  And  atheists  and  skeptics 
may  say  what  they  will,  it  is  within  the  experience  of  millions 
of  souls,  that  there  comes,  in  answer  to  such  prayers,  earnestly 
offered  in  times  of  great  depression,  a  rest  and  peace  that  the 
world  knows  not  of.  We  do  not  care  to  theorize  upon  this 
fact,  as  to  whether  such  rest  and  peace  is  the  result  of  any 
changing  purpose  of  Omnipotence  ;  or  whether  it  follows  from 
a  changed  attitude  of  mind  which  brings  the  suppliant  into  a 
truer  harmony  with  the  laws  of  his  being  ;  or  whether,  still,  it 
comes  from  the  drawing  nearer  of  gentle  and  loving  spirits  to 
minister  to  the  distressed  soul — the  fact  that  through  prayer 
the  blessing  comes  is  the  main  point  of  interest  to  the  world. 
The  man  or  woman  who  never  honestly  and  earnestly  prays 
misses  some  of  the  sweetest  joys  of  life. 
+r.+ 

4-O+ 

Love  is  the  panacea  for  all  ills.  It  is  more  potent  than 
gold,  more  binding  than  human  law.  In  it  lies  the  solution  of 
all  problems  of  right,  and  of  justice,  of  man's  relation  to  prop- 
erty and  to  his  fellow  men.  It  is  the  only  ruler  in  the  universe 
that  can  be  safely  trusted  with  absolute  power.  The  greater 
and  more  perfect  its  dominion,  the  more  will  justice  prevail 
among  men.  Then  all  hail,  Omnipotent '  Love !  We  will 
gladly  bow  our  necks  to  thy  yoke  and  worship  at  thy  shrine, 
well  knowing  that  thereby  he  who  humbleth  himself  shall  be 
exalted. 


160  SI-IKITI  \i     IK,  \»;MKNTS. 

THK  DOWN  «.i:  \  Dl 

The  down  grade  —  how  easy  it  is.  How  like  the  swift 
current  leading  to  the  fatal  falls.  It  requires  great  moral 
courage  to  turn  back  when  once  entered  upon  ;  but  it  must  be 
retraced  sometime  —  every  step  of  the  way.  Did  you  never 
think  of  it,  young  man  —  you  that  are  drifting  into  vicious  ways 
—  you,  frequenter  of  the  drinking  saloon,  and  the  haunts  of 
her  "  whose  feet  take  hold  of  death?"  Young  woman  —  you 
that  prefer  a  life  of  indolent  ease  to  humble,  but  virtuous  toil  ? 
The  time  will  come  when  you  will  hear  the  call  to  turn  bark, 
and  then,  the  steep  ascent  you  must  climb,  the  path  beset  with 
thorns  that  you  must  tread  !  But  it  is  your  only  way  to  the 
light  —  the  higher  life  of  the  soul.  How  much  easier  to  con- 
quer self  in  its  first  wandering  from  the  path,  and  bring  it  into 
harmony  with  divine  truth.  O,  erring  ones,  Infinite  Compas- 
sion and  Love  ever  brood  over  you,  even  in  your  wanderings. 

"  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,"  was  enjoined  by  the 
Great  Teacher.  Therein  is  found  one  of  the  sweetest  lessons 
of  life  and  duty.  To  go  selfishly  along  through  life,  strong 
and  empty-handed,  while  the  poor  wayfarer  at  your  side  is 
plodding  along  borne  down  with  a  heavy  load  of  sorrow,  or 
poverty,  or  sickness,  is  not  the  way  to  "call  the  blessing  down  " 
upon  your  own  spirit.  The  way  to  bless  others  is  first  to  radi- 
ate your  own  spirit  with  the  light  and  warmth  of  a  loving  pur- 
pose, and  then  to  let  them  feel  the  glow  of  your  own  soul. 
There  is  a  joy  that  the  selfish  heart  never  knew,  in  helping  the 
weary  and  faint-hearted  along  in  the  journey  of  lite. 


* 

* 


The  excessive  "  smartness  "  manifested  by  some  of  our 
alleged  scientists  in  their  treatment  of  spirit  phenomena  is  par, 
alleled  only  by  their  profound  ignorance  thereof.  \Yhere  is 
the  enlightened  Spiritualist  who  has  not  seen  mere  babes  who 
could  confound  them  in  their  wisdom? 


THINK     OK    II.  I  6 

THINK   OF  IT. 


The  happiest  time  of  a  mother's  life,  hardworked  and  care- 
worn though  she  may  be,  is  when  her  children  are  all  at  home 
from  their  tasks,  and  tucked  away  in  their  beds  to  sleep.  It  is 
then  she  feels  that  her  little  brood  is  under  her  wing,  and  that 
no  danger  can  come  to  any.  Hut  by  and  by  the  children  grow 
up  and  go  out  into  the  great  world,  some  to  fill  a  mother's 
heart  with  joy,  and  some,  perhaps,  with  bitter  tears.  It  is  then 
anxiety  comes  to  the  mother's  heart,  and  she  realizes,  as  never 
before,  the  responsibility  of  motherhood.  How  noble  and 
sublime  the  task  of  training  into  useful  ways  of  life  the  children 
we  bring  into  the  world.  Think  of  it,  profane,  smoking, 
intemperate,  carousing  fathers!  Think  of  it,  frivolous,  fashion- 
able, gossipping,  street-gadding  mothers!  The  group  of  boys 
at  the  street  corner,  with  cigarettes  in  their  mouths,  bravely 
exhaling  the  smoke  through  their  noses,  know  ye  not  that  they 
are  your  boys,  and  that  they  are  taking  their  first  lessons  in 
vice?  \Ve  shall  next  see  them  stoning  Chinamen,  and  soon 
they  will  be  found  in  the  dives  and  saloons,  from  whence  it  is 
only  a  step  to  the  lock-up,  and  one  more  to  the  grave.  With 
what  firmness  of  moral  purpose  should  men  and  women  assume 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  parentage. 


* 

:}:    * 
LAW. 


This  is  a  universe  of  law.  Law  stands  personified  at  the 
helm  of  the  great  ship  of  Being.  Nothing  exists  or  transpires 
in  contravention  of  law.  All  nature  is  subject  to  law — un- 
changing, irrevocable  law.  Ascending  from  the  plane  of  physr 
cal  nature,  we  enter  the  realm  of  spirit.  Here,  too,  we  find 
the  same  governing  purpose,  as  unalterable  as  the  will  of  God. 
We  call  it  Law;  why  not  name  it  God,  which  indeed  it  is 
or  else  endow  Law  with  the  moral  attributes  of  Deity,  and  as 
such  enthrone  it  in  our  veneration?  How  little  a  thing  is  man 
that  he  should  presume  to  consider  himself  capable  of  under- 


I  62  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

standing  Who  or  What  it  is  that  guides  all  things  to  a  definite 
purpose — that  holds  myriads  of  worlds  suspended  in  the  infin- 
ity of  space,  with  systems  of  unvarying  motion  extending 
through  periods  of  time  too  vast  for  human  calculation — that 
encompasseth  man,  as  it  were,  in  the  hollow  of  a  mighty  hand, 
where  if  not  inflated  with  a  sense  of  his  own  greatness,  he  will 
naturally  and  reverently  bend  low  in  humble  adoration. 


OUR"  PROPERTY. 


My  friend  owns  a  beautiful  flower  garden ;  at  least,  he 
thinks  he  does  !  He  pays  the  taxes  on  it,  and  employs  a  gard- 
ener to  care  for  it.  He  claims  that  privilege,  and  we  shall  not 
contest  the  claim.  But  are  those  flowers  really  any  more  his 
than  they  are  ours,  or  yours,  reader,  if  you  please?  His  eyes 
can  take  in  no  more  of  their  beauty  than  can  ours.  He  can 
enjoy  no  more  of  their  exquisite  fragrance  than  can  we.  Is  he 
not  rather  our  steward  in  caring  for  our  common  property?  So 
we  might  extend  this  idea  of  property  rights  until  the  humblest 
child  of  humanity  becomes  a  very  Croesus.  Are  not  the  air 
and  the  sunshine,  the  songs  of  the  birds  and  the  rippling  of  the 
brooks,  the  mighty  expanse  of  ocean,  the  majesty  and  grandeur 
of  the  universe,  the  joy  of  friendship,  the  glory  of  life  and  love, 
— are  not  all  these  ours?  What  more,  O  mortal,  would  you 
have? 


THROUGH   THE  GATES  OF   HiNOK  ANCK. 


If  we  would  have  good  and  true  men  and  women  we 
should  raise  them,  as  we  do  superior  grades  of  fruit  or  animals, 
by  scientific  methods,  dominated  by  the  combined  love  and 
wisdom  principles  of  our  natures.  We  apply  method  to  the 
improvement  of  all  things  in  nature  except  man,  and  him  we 
leave  largely  to  blind  chance — first  to  find  his  way  here  through 
the  gates  of  ignorance,  or  misguided  physical  impulse,  and 
next  to  grow  up  amidst  the  rank  weeds  of  indifference.  Is  it 


LOVE    NEVER    I) IKS.  16$ 

any  wonder  that  California  requires  three  great  insane  asylums,, 
two  state  prisons,  and  any  number  of  jails,  hospitals,  poor- 
houses,  magdalen  asylums,  industrial  and  reform  schools,  ex- 
pensive judicial  and  penal  systems,  and  an  army  of  petty  offi- 
cers, to  lick  into  shape  the  miserable  fruits  of  our  ignorance 
and  indifference?  Shall  we  never  learn  wisdom  from  experi- 
ence? Shall  we  never  learn  that  if  we  would  save  the  world 
from  sin  we  must  quit  raising  sinners  ? 


LOVE  NEVER  DIES. 


Love  never  dies  ;  it  is  a  part  of  the  universe — an  attri- 
bute of  the  Infinite  Soul.  Hatred,  ill-will,  revenge,  selfishness, 
these  all  belong  to  the  undeveloped  condition  of  the  spirit, 
and  must  necessarily  perish  and  pass  away.  Man  must  live  on 
the  earth  as  a  mortal,  or  on  or  near  it  as  a  spirit,  until  he  is 
purged  of  all  evil  propensities  and  passions,  all  unkindness 
and  ill-will.  He  must  learn  the  better  way  of  life  here,  sooner 
or  later,  and  he  cannot  learn  too  soon  for  his  own  happiness. 
Steeped  in  the  errors  of  the  mortal  mind,  he  may  think  now 
he  would  be  content  to  live  forever  on  the  lower  level  of  his- 
nature ;  but  the  time  will  come  when  he  will  awaken  to  a 
knowledge  of  his  true  self,  and  then  his  misspent  years  and 
lost  opportunities  will  rise  up  before  him  as  stern  monitors  to- 
point  him  the  way  of  duty.  There  is  no  rest  or  peace  in  evil 
— no  true  happiness  save  in  the  consciousness  of  right  and  truth.. 


Not  to  envy  your  neighbor  the  enjoyment  of  what  you  can 
not  afford  for  yourself,  nor  to  want  what  is  beyond  your  reach,  is  the 
secret  of  true  happiness  in  social  life.  It  is  the  endeavor  of 
the  poor  to  ape  the  ways  of  the  rich,  or  to  outshine  their 
neighbors,  that  has  brought  many  an  industrious  mechanic  and 
honest  tradesman  to  bankruptcy  and  ruin.  True  enjoyment 
does  not  depend  so  much  upon  what  one  has  as  it  does  upon, 
what  he  can  do  without. 


164  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

HARMONY. 


Harmony  is  the  key  note  to  success  in  business.  Among 
partners  in  trade,  or  in  work  of  any  kind,  there  must  not  only 
be  harmony  but  perfect  confidence  in  each  other.  Where 
these  elements  are  wanting  rankling  discord  is  sure  soon  to  en- 
ter in  ending  in  disruption  of  bonds,  and  often  in  the  scatter- 
ing to  the  winds  of  great  estates.  Persons  sensitive  to  psychic 
conditions  are  much  more  susceptible  to  inharmonies  than 
others.  They  can  feel  the  conditions  upon  entering  a  room 
where  discord  exists  among  the  inmates,  and  it  is  often  a  source 
of  pain  to  them.  The  musician  whose  instrument  is  out  of 
tune  disturbs  the  harmony  of  the  entire  band  ;  so  one  inhar- 
monious person  in  the  family,  or  in  the  business  copartnership, 

will  disturb  the  serenity  of  all  his  associates. 
+n+    

• +O+ 

The  fatalist  may  say  that  man  is  just  what  he  is  made  to 
be,  and  cannot  be  otherwise — that  whatever  he  does  is  the 
precise  thing  he  is  obliged  to  do,  and  he  cannot  help  himself. 
We  do  not  believe  it.  If  true,  why  seek  to  improve  his  condi- 
tion ?  Or  why  should  he  ever  seek  to  overcome  his  evil  im- 
pulses and  bring  himself  into  harmony  with  the  higher  law  of 
his  being?  The  fact  that  he  can  improve — that  of  his  own 
•will  and  volition  he  can  mount  to  a  higher  stage  of  being,  is  a 
fact  that  links  him  to  the  highest,  or  All  Good,  in  the  Universe. 
We  pity  the  man  who  imagines  himself  as  possessing  no  ac- 
countability superior  to  that  of  the  weather-vane  that  idly  turns 
to  tell  which  way  the  wind  blows.  He  might  as  well  have 
been  born  a  senseless  clod. 

*  * 

"Let  the  good  angels  come  in," — let  them  come  into  your 

hearts,  and  let  them  take  up  their  abode  in  your  homes.  You 
have  no  idea  how  they  will  lighten  your  cares,  and  roll 
the  stone  away  from  the  sepulchre  of  your  hopes  and  joys. 
They  will  bring  health  and  peace,  and  thrill  all  your  being  with 
the  divine  harmony  of  their  own  heavenly  spheres. 


THERE    COMES    A    TIMK.  165 

THERE   COMES  A  TIME. 

There  comes  a  time  in  the  life  of  every  person  when  he^ 
must  realize  that  his  brief  day  of  existence  is  drawing  to  a  close 
— when  the  eye  loses  its  lustre,  the  step  its  elasticity,  and  he 
must  feel  that  he  is  nearing  the  inevitable  change  that  comes  to 
all.  Have  you  reached  that  time,  dear  reader?  If  so,  you 
must  know  that  there  is  not  much  more  of  this  earth  life  for 
you.  You  must  know  that  the  shadows  you  see  in  the  distance 
are  the  mists  that  hang  over  the  river,  beyond  which  stretch 
away  into  infinity  the  "land  of  the  leal" — the  home  of  the 
immortal  soul.  Isn't  it  about  time, — if  you  have  not  done  so 
.already, — that  you  began  to  put  yourself  in  readiness  for  the 
long  journey?  You  will  need  some  things  to  take  with  you. 
What  have  you  among  your  assets  that  you  will  want,  or  that 
will  be  of  any  use  to  you  "over  there?"  Surely  nothing  of  a 
temporal  character.  That  you  must  dispose  of,  or  make  proper 
use  of,  before  you  go,  or  it  will  weigh  you  down.  Then  what 
have  you  left  that  will  be  of  real  worth  to  you  when  you  shall 
-cross  over  and  awaken  to  the  new  life  on  the  other  shore?  Is 
not  the  subject  worthy  of  your  thought?  And  would  it  not  be 
well  for  us  all,  occasionally,  to  close  the  doors  of  our  souls  to 
the  world  for  a  little  while,  take  an  account  of  stock,  and  see 
just  where  we  stand? 


If  every  man  could  only  realize  how  strong  is  the  tie  of  sym- 
pathy between  his  own  spirit  and  the  spirits  of  those  who  are 
near  and  dear  to  him  in  the  other  life,  and  how  pained  they 
,are  at  his  misdeeds,  how  careful  he  would  be  not  to  wound 
them  by  any  sinful  act.  The  thought  that  angel  ministrants 
-are  ever  near  to  sympathize  with  us  in  our  sorrows,  and  rejoice 
with  us  in  our  rational  joys  and  successes,  should  be  a  strong 
safeguard  against  an  evil  life,  and  it  no  doubt  is.  Let  us  wel- 
come all  good  influences,  and  ever  seek  for  the  "  communion 
of  saints." 


I  66  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

Who  would  strike  his  colors  at  the  demand  of  the  enemy,, 
without  a  vigorous  effort  for  their  defense  is  no  true  soldier. 
The  Spiritualist  who  should  become  disheartened  because 
he  has  discovered  a  fraud  in  his  cabinet,  or  because  his  relig- 
ious and  skeptical  neighbor  "makes  faces"  at  him  over  the 
back  fence,  and  calls  him  ugly  names,  needs  a  rap  across  his 
spiritual  knuckles  to  brace  him  up  to  his  duty.  With  the  light 
and  glory  of  the  new  gospel  shining  down  upon  us,  why  should 
any  one  falter.  What  is  there  in  the  possession  of  a  positive 
knowledge  of  what  the  religious  world  believes  and  hopes  to  be 
true,  to  cause  one  to  hide  his  head  in  shame,  and  "deny  his- 
Savior?" 


POTENCY  OF  THOUGHT. 

How  little  we  do  know  of  the  nature  or  potency  of  thought.. 
We  seem  to  live  and  move  in  an  element  of  thought,  that  in- 
volves and  surrounds  us  as  does  the  air  we  breathe.  In  pro- 
portion as  we  are  receptive  to  this  thought  element,  are  we 
able  to  take  in  and  give  expression  to  thought — not  only  the 
thoughts  that  one's  own  spirit  may  shape  and  give  forth,  but 
also  the  thoughts  of  other  spirits  higher  in  the  intellectual  scale 
than  our  own.  All  advanced  writers  and  thinkers  will  admit 
that  their  own  minds  are  the  keys  of  the  instrument  through' 
which  the  spirit  produces  its  grand  melodies,  and  that  if  they 
would  give  forth  the  sweetest  harmonies  they  must  live  in  clos- 
est sympathy  with  the  divinity  within  their  own  souls.  True 
inspiration  comes  of  aspiration  and  passivity. 

Life  is  a  hard  journey  to  those,  mainly,  who  make  it  so,, 
or  whose  ancestors  have  unwittingly  made  it  so  for  them.  The 
troubles  that  come  to  one  in  this  life — the  sickness  and  sorrow, 
the  privations  and  mishaps — are  mostly  the  natural  fruits  of 
one's  own  ignorance,  or  the  result  of  one's  folly — which  are  oftert. 
one  and  the  same. 


BEAUTY    IN    VARIETY.  176 

BEAUTY  IN  VARIETY. 

It  is  well  for  the  world  that  all  men  do  not  devote  their 
lives  to  the  pursuits  of  trade.  For  the  truest  good  of  all  there 
must  be  dreamers.  There  must  be  poets,  inventors,  artists. 
There  must  be  thinkers  and  teachers  in  all  the  ways  and  ab- 
stractions of  life.  There  must  be  many  men  and  women  who- 
have  but  little  time  to  plan  and  think  for  themselves ;  their 
thought  is  for  the  welfare  of  humanity — for  the  millions  who 
do  not  think  either  for  themselves  or  for  others.  What  would 
wealth  be  without  its  adorments  of  art?  Wrhat  would  the 
world  be  without  its  noble  army  of  philosophers,  and  dreamers, 
too,  if  you  please ;  for  is  not  all  speculative  thought  an  impulse 
from  the  soul  realm — the  land  of  dreams  ?  It  takes  all  kinds 
of  thinkers  and  workers  to  make  a  world  worth  living  in. 
Therefore  should  all  recognize  the  fact,  that  each  honest  toiler, 
as  well  as  he  of  great  intellectual  and  executive  powers,  is  es- 
sential to  the  symmetry  of  the  social  structure  of  which  all  are 
a  part.  The  more  numerous  and  better  enlightened  the  work- 
ers, the  more  enduring  the  structure. 

If  you  are  miserable,  the  way  to  cure  yourself  of  your 
misery  is  to  minister  to  the  need  of  some  one  more  miserable 
than  yourself.  By  arousing  in  your  own  spirit  an  ardent  sympathy 
for  others'  woes,  you  will  find,  ere  you  are  aware  of  it,  your 
own  troubles  all  forgotten.  There  is  no  greater  panacea  for 
the  ills  of  life  than  a  lively  interest  in  the  welfare  of  your  more 

unfortunate  fellow-beings. 

* 

A  home  where  love  abounds  is  a  place  where  angels,  seen 
and  unseen,  delight  to  dwell.  Who  would  lower  the  standard 
of  purity  of  domestic  life,  or  in  any  manner  tarnish  the  bright 
escutcheon  of  home,  does  a  deed  that  sends  a  pang  of  sorrow 
to  the  remotest  heavens.  One  of  the  highest  aims  of  Spirit- 
ualism should  be  to  ennoble  and  beautify  the  homes  of  the 
people. 


I  68  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

CONSOLATION  IN  AFFLICTION. 


When  trouble  and  misfortune  come — when  the  realization 
of  great  losses  sweep  over  the  soul — when  the  infirmities  of 
age  settle  down  upon  the  worn-out  form — what  is  there  so  com- 
forting as  the  fact  of  that  spiritual  knowledge  that  gives  one 
the  conscious  assurance  that  his  loved  ones  on  the  other  side 
of  life  are  tenderly  near  to  sympathize  with  him  in  his  troubles. 
How  it  bouys  up  the  spirit,  and  gives  to  the  stricken  soul 
strength  to  bear  the  burden  of  life's  ills  to  the  end.  He  who 
has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  spirit  communion,  and  learned 
to  shape  his  life  in  harmony  therewith,  has  truly  found  the 
"  pearl  of  great  price."  For  him  there  is  no  cloud  so  dense 
that  he  cannot  see  its  silver  lining — no  grief  so  profound  that 
he  cannot  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  joy  and  happiness  beyond. 
Duty,  however  irksome  or  unpleasant,  henceforth  becomes  to 
him  a  pathway  strewn  with  flowers.  He  feels  that  there  is  a 
useful  lesson  in  his  sorrows,  and  that  they  are  only  for  a  little 
while  at  most.  Where  others  would  yield  to  despair,  he  would 
rise  in  the  strength  and  panoply  of  a  power  that  the  world 
knows  not  of.  He  would  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  his  afflictions, 
and,  taking  up  his  scrip  and  staff,  would  journey  on  with  a 

light  heart  to  the  river's  brink. 

— -<•  ** — 

The  spirit  world  has  its  own  ways  for  the  spread  of  its 
golden  truths  among  men.  It  bends  near  to  earth,  with  its 
mighty  hosts  of  angels,  to  lift  the  pall  of  gloom  from  the  grave 
— something  that  the  religious  teachings  of  the  centuries  have 
not  only  been  unable  to  accomplish,  but  which  have  actually 
added  to  the  soul's  burden  the  dismal  darkness  of  a  false  and 
unnatural  theology.  The  mighty  ones  who  are  moving  upon 
this  planet  will  brook  no  denial.  The  puny  opposition  of  man 
is  to  them  as  nought.  The  light  of  truth  is  breaking  in  upon 
hosts  of  the  children  of  earth,  and  will  continue  to  increase, 
until  the  world  is  flooded  with  its  divine  rays. 


NIGHT    OF    HORRORS.  169 

NIGHT  OF  HORRORS. 

From  what  a  night  of  horrors  is  not  the  world  awakening — 
has  not  already  awakened — as  the  result  of  the  development  of 
the  art  of  printing  !  Thought  has  burst  the  restraints  of  a  tyran- 
nous theology,  that  so  long  held  it  captive  and  now  radiates 
the  lightning  flashes  of  ideas,  from  the  brightest  spirits  to  the 
darkest,  even  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  past  is  useful 
to  us  no  more,  only  as  a  lesson  of  humiliation  to  curb  our 
pride  and  circumscribe  our  vanity.  The  Great  Captain  of  our 
Salvation,  Universal,  Mental  and  Spiritual  Liberty,  alligns 
humanity  with  face  to  the  front,  and  then  with  the  command, 
"  Forward,"  takes  up  the  march  of  human  progress  down  the 
ages.  It  is  well  for  him  who  knows  how  to  keep  step  to  the 
rhythm  of  humanity. 

DIVINE  SYMPHONIES. 


If  we  would  enter  upon  the  higher  spiritual  delights  of 
the  other  life,  when  the  toils  and  troubles  of  this  life  are  ended, 
we  should  bring  our  spirits  into  harmony  with  the  divine  sym- 
phonies of  existence  here.  There  is  no  break  in  Nature's 
plans.  There  is  a  perfect  uniformity  in  her  conditions  for 
the  happiness  of  the  human  spirit,  in  this  world  and  the  next, 
and  in  all  the  worlds.  We  cannot  live  angular,  inharmonious 
and  unhappy  lives  here,  and  expect  to  enter  at  once  upon  a  con- 
dition of  exalted  happiness  "  over  there."  We  are  spirits  now 
as  much  as  we  ever  shall  be — not  as  radiant  and  grand  as  we 
may  reasonably  hope  to  become,  but  in  expression  and  quality 
just  the  same,  differing  only  in  degree.  Our  true  work  here  is 
to  sweeten  this  life  by  the  practice  of  an  everyday  kind  of 
goodness.  This  it  is  to  draw  near  unto  God. 


"  Physician,  heal  thyself."  Vice  may  abound  in  the  land, 
bad  laws  may  be  enacted  for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  legalized 
temptations  to  drunkenness  and  ruin  may  exist,  in  brief,  society 


I  70  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

may  be  generally  "out  of  joint,"  but  do  not  think,  O  com- 
plainer,  that  you  alone  can  bring  harmony  out  of  chaos.  The 
job  is  too  great.  The  first  and  main  thing  for  you  to  look 
after  is  yourself.  Are  you  living  up  to  your  highest  conception 
of  truth — to  your  best  ideal  of  manhood?  If  not,  your  first 
work  and  duty  is  in  your  own  spirit, — to  bring  yourself  into  har- 
mony with  the  divine  in  your  own  nature.  Then  will  you  be 
prepared  to  work  for  the  world  in  a  way  that  will  accomplish 
the  greatest  amount  of  good. 

The  more  one  chafes  or  rebels  against  his  environment- — 
as  the  wild  bird  beats  its  wings  against  the  bars  of  its  cage — 
the  greater  the  pain  and  unhappiness  he  brings  upon  himself 
To  wisely  plan  to  improve  one's  condition,  or  seek  to  overcome 
unfavorable  or  inhospitable  barriers  to  one's  happiness,  is  quite 
another  thing.  "What  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured,"  is 
an  old  and  homely  adage.  But  before  one  consents  to  "en- 
dure"  he  should  first  be  certain  that  a  "cure"  is  impossible, 
and  when  found  that  it  is,  then  endurance,  with  the  best  pos- 
sible grace,  becomes  simply  a  virtue. 

*** 

If  the  average,  self-assumed  custodian  of  other  people's 
morals  or  manners,  would  find  a  wretch  that  needs  scourging 
— one  that  should  be  "  lashed  naked  through  the  world ''  for 
all  manner  of  faults — let  him  look  within.  He  who  would 
keep  all  the  weeds  and  briars  out  of  his  own  garden  has  pre- 
cious little  time  to  bother  with  those  that  encumber  his  neigh- 
bor's grounds.  Besides,  there  is  nothing  in  all  the  range  of 
reformatory  methods  quite  so  potent  as  a  good  example. 

*  * 

Let  no  one  center  his  hopes  of  happiness  wholly  in  the 
future.  Heaven  is  more  of  a  condition  than  a  place.  The 
soul  that  is  unhappy  here  need  not  expect  at  once  to  find  hap- 
piness "over  there."  It  should  carry  to  the  other  life  enough 


A    NECESSARY    EVIL.  17 1 

of  heaven  to  forecast  its  future.  Why  should  we  hide  ourselves 
amid  the  shadows  in  a  world  where  there  is  so  much  sunshine 
.as  there  is  here. 


A  NECESSARY  BAIL. 


Selfishness  of  a  certain  kind,  under  the  existing  order  of 
things,  is  a  necessity  of  individual  and  public  life.  It  is  only 
in  a  condition  of  society  where  all  are  unselfish  that  the  indi- 
vidual can  afford  to  be  like  his  neighbors.  Should  he  allow 
himself  to  be  singular  in  this  respect,  seeking  his  neighbors' 
welfare  wholly  at  the  expense  of  his  own,  he  would  soon  have 
but  little,  except  his  character,  that  he  could  call  his  own.  So 
it  is  with  nations.  To  maintain  themselves  against  the  rapa- 
city and  greed  of  the  invader,  they  are  compelled  to  appeal  to  that 
first  law  of  nature,  self-preservation — to  hedge  themselves  within 
barriers  of  selfishness.  But  there  is  an  ideal  condition  of  so- 
ciety where  no  precaution  of  this  kind  would  be  necessary — 
where  every  individual  could  wisely  devote  his  life  to  the  wel- 
fare of  his  neighbor,  and  in  so  doing  would  secure  the  largest 
measure  of  happiness  to  himself.  That  is  "  the  good  time 

coming.'' 

Joj 

ACTIVE  USE. 

The  faculties  of  the  soul — benevolence,  kindness,  charity, 
— which  are  not  kept  in  active  use,  will  gradually  lose  their 
powers  of  expression  ;  while  on  the  other  hand  those  faculties  or 
qualities  which  are  kept  most  constantly  employed,  will  become 
brighter  and  keener  thereby.  Men  do  not  become  entirely  good, 
or  thoroughly  bad,  in  a  day.  If  we  live  on  a  low  plane,  and 
allow  ourselves  to  think  unworthy  thoughts,  or  indulge  our  bod- 
ies in  degrading  appetites  and  passions,  our  natures  will  ex- 
pand in  that  direction,  and  that,  too,  at  the  expense  of  our 
higher  selves.  We  can  grow  in  the  direction  of  the  true  and 
.good,  or  we  can  grovel  in  the  gutters  and  sewers  of  our 


172  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

natures,  as  we  will.  Why  will  man  feed  his  spirit  on  husks,  and 
clothe  himself  in  moral  rags  and  tatters,  when  he  might  live- 
like  a  prince? 


THE  MAN  WHO   KNOWS. 


The  man  who  knows  is  certainly  a  far  more  reliable  person 
to  obtain  information  from  than  the  one  who  doesn't  know,, 
and  doesn't  care  to  know.  Science  represents  the  latter  per- 
son in  its  relation  to  modern  Spiritualism.  It  considers  it 
beneath  its  dignity  to  investigate  anything  which  it  cannot  weigh 
in  its  scales,  or  reduce  in  its  crucibles;  hence,  it  prefers  to  de- 
nounce the  honest  claims  of  modern  Spiritualism  as  the  tricks  of 
jugglery,  or  the  creations  of  a  diseased  imagination.  It  was  thus  in 
Columbus',  Galileo's  and  Fulton's  times;  themossback  conserva- 
tism of  those  days  was  intensely  disgusted  to  imagine  that 
there  could  be  grand  facts  of  nature  whereof  they  were  as  ig- 
norant as  babes.  In  fact,  there  are  babes  whose  manifesta- 
tions of  psychic  power  could  scatter  their  theories  and  skepti- 
cism to  the  winds. 


POWER  O¥  THE  SPIRIT. 


What  do  we  know  about  the  potency  of  the  human  spirit 
— its  power  over  disease,  its  inherent  divinity?  If  the  Hindu 
adept  may,  by  an  effort  of  the  will,  compel  matter  to  move 
through  space — may  even  overcome  the  law  of  gravitation,  by 
the  exercise  of  a  higher  law,  and  hold  himself  suspended  above 
the  earth — what,  if  any,  may  be  the  limit  of  the  spirit's  powers? 
The  world  has  had  its  stone  age,  its  ages  of  bronze  and  of  iron, 
its  age  of  steel,  steam  and  electricity,  why  may  the  next  step  in 
its  onward  progress  not  be  the  age  of  spirit?  And  such,  it 
seems  to  us,  is  the  age  upon  which  we  are  now  entering. 
Strange  things  are  happening  everywhere,  things  that  teach  us 
that  matter  may  be  scattered  as  with  a  breath,  and  instantly 
reunited — that  solids  may  seemingly  be  passed  through  solids 


CLINGING    TO    THE    PAST.  I  73 

—that  even  the  human  form  may  be  made  to  appear  and  disap- 
pear under  the  magic  power  of  spirit.  Is  not  the  prophecy  near 
fulfillment  that  mortal  and  spirit  will  walk  the  earth  side  by 

side,  the  latter  tangible  to  physical  sight  and  sense? 

•»•  •- 

CLINGING    TO  THE    PAST. 


It  is  amazing  with  what  tenacity  some,  indeed  most,  of 
our  religious  sects  cling  to  the  past.  They  shut  their  eyes  to 
the  facts  of  science  and  the  modern  development  of  spiritual 
truth,  and  grope  along  in  the  mist  and  shadows  of  a  supersti- 
tious and  barbarous  past,  thus  hugging  foolish  and  hurtful  de- 
lusions to  their  souls  in  preference  to  the  beautiful  truth. 
They  will  accept  as  truth  the  assertion  of  some  ancient 
semi-barbarism,  and  reject  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses ! 
They  will  believe  the  most  amazing  conceptions  of  supersti- 
tion concerning  the  Creator  and  his  plans,  that  had  their  birth 
in  the  childhood  of  the  race,  in  preference  to  the  plain,  com- 
prehensive facts  of  nature,  which  appeal  convincingly  to  all 
enlightened  minds.  Truly,  the  sinuosities  of  the  mortal  mind  are 
a  great  mystery  and  past  finding  out. 


OUR  STEWARDS. 


It  is  an  old  saw — "It  takes  all  kinds  of  people  to  make  a 
world."  For  the  best  interests  of  the  world — or  rather  for  the 
highest  unfoldment  of  humanity — teachers  are  needed,  who,  to 
attain  the  highest  proficiency  in  their  calling,  have  no  time  to 
enter  the  lists  in  the  competitive  struggle  of  life  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  wealth.  They  must  give  their  lives  to  their  work,  and 
pursue  the  one  high  object  to  the  end.  The  wealth-winners  of 
the  world  must  recognize  this  fact.  They  also  must  recognize 
the  further  fact,  that  is,  the  Spiritualist  portion  thereof;  (and 
here  is  the  application  of  the  lesson  of  this  fragment),  that  but 
few  of  them  could,  and  probably  none  of  them  would,  ever 
undertake  to  edit  and  publish  a  journal  in  the  interest  of  the 


37.4  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

•cause  they  profess  to  love.  Hence,  to  them,  as  the  custodians 
of  the  earth's  treasures,  may  we  not  rightfully  and  confidently 
look  for  the  means  for  carrying  forward  this  grand  work  ? 

CASTING  SEED  UPON  BARREN  GROUND. 


There  is  but  little  use  in  trying  to  impress  spiritual  truths 
upon  minds  not  ready  to  receive  them.  It  is  simply  casting 
^eed  upon  barren  ground.  Some  skeptical  persons  seem  to 
think  that  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  Spiritualists  to  convince 
them  of  spiritual  facts — to  overcome  them,  as  it  were,  with 
argument — and  over-ride  their  objections.  Not  so.  Let  them 
wait  until  their  hearts  become  tender  with  some  great  sorrow — 
until  some  bright  light  goes  out  of  their  lives,  leaving  their 
spirits  palled  in  the  gloom  of  the  skeptic's  grave.  Then  will 
they  be  ready  to  listen  to  the  Voice  that  is  ever  ready  to  speak 
•comfort  and  hope  to  the  saddened  heart,  and  open  the  way  to 
a  beautiful  communion  with  their  loved  ones  on  the  other  shore- 


The  man  who  readily  yields  to  a  hot  temper,  and  thus  by 
his  foolishness  causes  another  pain,  is  sowing  a  crop  of  nettles 
in  his  spirit  that  will  cause  him  a  world  of  anguish  sometime. 
They  must  all  be  weeded  out  before  the  rich  harvest  of  a  truly 
•chastened  nature  can  be  gathered  in.  Not  to  be  able  to  govern 
one's  temper  is  such  a  sign  of  weakness  in  one  as  should  make 
him  blush  for  his  manhood. 

*  * 

"  The  greatest  of  these  " — of  the  three  Christian  graces — 
-"is  charity."  "Faith  may  be  lost  in  sight" — so  reads  a  certain 
ritual, — "  hope  ends  in  fruition,  but  charity  extends  beyond 
the  grave  throughout  the  boundless  realm  of  eternity."  How 
grandly  beautiful  is  the  spirit  star-gemmed  with  this  divine 
light !  How  its  heavenly  rays  permeate  human  life  !  How 
they  enrich  and  ripen  the  spirit  and  draw  it  close  within  the 
.great  loving  arms  of  Infinite  Love. 


TENDENCY    OF    SOCIETY.  175 

TENDENCY  OF  SOCIETY. 


It  is  thought  by  many  social  scientists  that  the  tendency 
of  society  in  America,  is  toward  anarchy.  This  inference  is 
drawn  from  the  rapid  aggregation  of  wealth  and  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  few,  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  The  remedy 
for  this  condition  of  things  is  thought  to  be  found  in  National- 
ism. Great  trusts  can  be  safely  vested  only  in  the  hands  of  the 
Government,  and  never  in  those  of  individuals,  whose  aim  and 
ambition  is  self-aggrandizement.  Thus  it  seems  that  Bellamy's 
dream,  "  Looking  Backward,"  is  something  more  than  a  dream. 
The  Government  owns  the  public  lands;  it  owns  the  vast  postal 
system  ;  it  owns  the  canals  (now  coming  into  disuse),  and  the 
great  highways  of  nature,  —  why  should  it  not  own  the  telegraph 
and  railroad  systems  ?  \Vhy  not  control,  for  the  best  good  of 
its  citizens,  the  manufacture  of  cloth,  lumber,  iron  and  leather? 
Why  should  it  not  own  the  coal  mines,  and  the  oil  deposits, 
and  supply  their  products  to  .the  people  at  a  minimum  of  cost? 
Corners  in  these  great  staples,  for  the  benefit  of  individuals, 
would  then  be  at  an  end  ;  and  it  really  seems  to  be  the  only 
remedy  for  these  evils.  Prices  of  any  given  staple,  under  our 
present  system,  are  not  regulated  by  the  supply,  but  by  the 
ability  of  a  few  men  to  control  the  supply,  and  make  the  prices 
to  suit  themselves.  This  is  a  crying  evil,  and  one  that  cannot  be 
safely  trusted  to  competition  for  its  correction.  Its  only  cure 
is  in  placing  said  staples  beyond  the  reach  of  corporate  trusts. 
Why  not  ? 


"A  wonderful  memory,"  is  what  the  secular  papers  call 
it,  when  a  blind  colored  baby,  three  years  of  age,  in  Chicago, 
gives  the  exact  population  of  various  cities  at  various  times, 
and  answers  readily  puzzling  geographical  questions,  and  per- 
forms other  astonishing  mental  feats.  There  is  no  more  mem- 
ory about  that  than  there  is  in  young  Hoffman's  piano  playing, 
or  in  the  writing  in  various  languages  by  persons  who  have 


176  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

knowledge  only  of  one  language,  such   as   we   have  often  wit- 
nessed.    These  flashes  of  inspiration  are  something  more  than 

memory. 

# 

*  •*• 

Nature  demands  implicit  obedience  of  all  her  children. 
She  will  have  no  "  talking  back,"  no  questioning  of  her  ways  or 
purposes,  save  but  to  bring  the  questioner  into  truer  harmony 
with  law.  The  sooner  man  learns  this  lesson  and  adopts  it  as 
the  rule  of  his  life,  the  better  it  will  be  for  his  happiness.  The 
avalanche  that  sweeps  down  the  mountain  side  is  utterly  mer- 
ciless, but  no  more  so  than  the  inexorable  laws  that  govern 
human  life.  Poison  kills  just  as  certainly  when  administered 
by  mistake  as  when  taken  with  suicidal  intent.  Just  in  pro- 
portion as  man  is  ignorant  and  disobedient  will  he  be  unhappy. 


* 
*  * 


What  will  it  matter  to  the  corpse  whether  it  be  embalmed  and 
given  a  resting  place  in  some  costly  mausoleum,  or  whether  it 
occupies  some  obscure  six-feet  of  earth — whether  it  goes  back 
into  the  elements  to  which  it  belongs  in  five  years  or  five 
thousand.  The  mummies  of  Egypt's  kings  make  no  better 
paper  than  those  of  her  plebeian  water  carriers,  nor  are  they 
any  more  respected.  The  only  monument  that  will  survive  the 
ravages  of  time,  is  the  one  we  build  in  the  hearts  and  memories 
of  our  fellow-beings. 

*  '* 

The  real  things  of  the  spirit  cannot  be  measured  or  cognized 
by  the  mortal  senses.  Herein  is  found  the  stumbling  block  of 
the  materialistic  investigator  of  psychic  phenomena.  Who 
would  "discern  "  the  spirit  in  its  true  sense,  must  first  exalt  his 
own  spiritual  nature,  and  bring  himself  en  rapport  with  the 
world  of  spirit  forces  and  causes. 

* 

*  * 

What  a  barren  waste  is  that  human  life  that  blossoms  with 
no  generous  deeds, — where  the  rippling  laughter  of  childhood  is 


"AUNTY  T —  177 

never  heard,  and  the  sweet  voice  of  love  makes  no  melody  in 
the  soul.  Better  to  bear  the  burdens  of  poverty  for  aye,  better 
sickness  and  sorrow  and  even  death  itself,  if  but  the  beautiful 
hope  of  life  beyond  and  the  tender  sympathy  of  one  true  heart 
be  left. 

"AUNTY    T " 


One  of  the  sweetest  and  grandest  souls  w^e  ever  knew  is  a 
sunny-faced,  matronly  woman,  going  down  into  the  sunset  of 
mortal  life,  with  a  heart  bubbling  over  with  goodness.  vShe 
belcn^s  to  no  church, — in  fact  she  is  a  true  Spiritualist, — and 
the  only  religion  she  knows  anything  of,  or  believes  in,  is  the 
religion  of  kind  thoughts  and  good  deeds.  There  was  never  a 
sick  man,  woman  or  child  in  the  neighborhood  where  she 

resided,  that  doesn't  have  occasion  to  bless  "Aunty  T ,"  as 

the  young  people  of  her  acquaintance  all  call  her ;  never  a 
sad,  sin-sick  soul  turned  away  from  her  gentle  and  loving 
presence  uncornforted.  How  she  manages  to  do  so  much 
for  others,  and  at  the  same  time  take  care  of  her  own  home, 
which  is  always  kept  sweet  and  tidy,  is  more  than  we  can 
understand.  But,  early  and  late,  she  is  at  her  task  of  blessing 
somebody.  If  she  belonged  to  a  dozen  churches,  and  sub- 
scribed to  all  the  articles  of  faith  in  Christendom,  does  any  one 
imagine  she  could  be  any  better  woman  than  she  is?  And  is 
there  a  believer  in  that  cold,  Calvinistic  faith  that  would  con- 
sign unbelieving  souls  in  the  abstract  to  eternal  torment  for  the 
glory  of  God,  who  could  really,  away  down  in  his  own  soul, 
have  the  slightest  respect,  to  say  nothing  of  veneration,  for  a 
Supreme  Being  who  could  make  such  a  woman  as  this  a  sub- 
ject of  his  infinite  wrath  ?  We  think  better  of  human  nature 
than  to  believe  it. 


All  manifestations   of  nature   must  be  the  expression  of 
Thought,    the   thought   of  an  Infinite  Mind,  just  as  invention, 


178  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMKNTS. 

art,  poetry,  etc.,  are  the  expressions  of  human  or  mortal  mind. 
There  is  no  method  in  chance,  no  harmony  in  chaos,  and  yet 
we  recognize  both  method  and  harmony  in  the  manifestations 
of  nature.  The  crystal,  with  its  delicate  groupings  of  atoms, 
the  flower  with  its  beautiful  arrangement  of  stamens  and  petals, 
the  construction  of  the  planets,  of  systems  of  suns  and  con- 
stellations, all  express  method,  harmony  and  thought.  Whence 
comes  these  expressions  of  thought?  Let  him  answer,  who 
denies  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being. 


A   PATERNAL  GOVERNMENT. 


We  believe  in  a  paternal  and  maternal  government — a 
government  that  cares  for  and  protects  the  weaklings  of  the 
great  family.  The  parent  shields  the  child  from  danger,  and 
guards  and  protects  its  interests.  What  is  man  but  a  child 
"a  little  older  grown  ?"  Thousands  of  our  people  are  no  more 
fitted  to  care  for  themselves  than  are  children.  They  become 
the  prey  of  the  greedy  and  dishonest  in  many  ways.  They 
yield  to  temptations  of  vice  and  intemperance,  and  "become 
burdens  upon  the  thrifty  and  virtuous.  Why  should  they  not 
be  protected,  just  as  the  wise  father  would  protect  his  child,  for 
their  own  good,  and  the  good  of  the  rest  of  the  family.  We 
make  laws  to  restrain  man  in  certain  matters,  thereby  recogniz- 
ing the  inability  of  some  to  respect  the  rights  of  others.  Why 
should  any  be  left  to  go  to  destruction  ?  What  sort  of  a 
government  is  it  that  tempts  any  of  its  citizens  to  destruction, 
as  our  weak  ones  are  tempted  by  the  thousands  of  liquor 
saloons  that  defile  all  of  our  great  cities  ?  WThen  man  becomes 
wise  enough  to  be  safely  allowed  to  be  a  law  unto  himself,  then 
he  will  need  no  other  protection  than  that  of  his  own  unfolded  soul. 
But  the  average  man  is  yet  far  from  that  millennial  condition. 


Who  lives  for  earthly  pleasure  and  gratification  alone,  with 
appetites  and  passions  unbridled,  cannot  surely  realize  that  he 


FOR  SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE.  179 

is  dragging  down  into  the  mire  of  his  ownjower  nature,  the 
royal  standard  of  true  manhood.  Life  is  too  short  to  live 
unworthily  or  unwisely.  No  one  can  afford  to  be  profligate  of 
time.  And  yet  how  many  there  are  who  become  bankrupt  in 
health  and  in  character,  before  they  have  reached  the  meridian 
of  their  years.  A  few  years  hence,  and  how  vain  will  seem  all 
things  that  beguile  the  spirit  into  ignoble  ways. 


"  FOK  SWEET  CHARITY'S  SAKE." 

There  are  many  needy  ones  in  the  world — men  and 
women  sick  and  friendless,  and  helpless  orphans — who  find  it 
a  hard  struggle  to  live.  A  little  judicious  help,  kindly  be- 
stowed, will  aid  the  giver  as  well  as  the  receiver.  It  will  bring: 
comfort  to  the  one,  and  an  enlarged  spiritual  nature  to  the 
other.  God  pity  the  man  or  woman  who  never  gives  "for 
sweet  charity's  sake."  It  indicates  that  his  nature  is  hard  and 
selfish — that  he  has  no  sympathy  for  his  suffering  fellow-mor- 
tals. Who  would  like  to  carry  such  a  spirit  into  the  other  life, 
where,  we  doubt  not,  he  will  find  the  greatest  need  of  sympa- 
thy for  himself?  Give,  though  your  means  may  be  limited 
and  the  amount  small.  It  is  not  the  gift  so  much  as  the  spirit 
of  it  that  benefits  the  giver.  If  you  have  nothing  of-this- 
world's  worth  to  give,  then  give  a  kind  word  of  sympathy. 
There  is  nothing  like  it  to  draw  the  spirit  nearer  to  the  great 
loving  Soul  of  the  Universe. 


We  can  learn  to  say  "No"  with  a  gentle  grace  that  will 
even  inspire  a  feeling  of  gratitude  in  the  heart  of  the  one 
denied.  But  the  negations  of  many  people  are  generally 
accepted,  if  not  always  so  intended,  as  an  offence.  How  much 
the  thoughtful  amenities  of  life  smooth  down  the  rough- 
places,  and  lighten  the  burdens  which  most  of  us  are  required 
to  bear.  If  you  cannot  grant  your  neighbor's  request,  do  not 
refuse  him  with  a  stab. 


l8o  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

PHYSICAL,  COURAGE. 


Physical  courage,  when  exercised  in  a  worthy  cause,  is 
something  to  be  commended — to  be  desired.  But,  when  it  is 
backed  up  by  no  moral  courage,  there  is  no  more  merit  in  it 
than  there  is  in  the  courage  of  the  bull-dog  or  hyena.  The 
physical  bravery  of  the  man  that  whips  his  wife,  or  that  assaults 
•old  age,  or  that  attacks  an  inferior  in  physical  strength,  is  not 
true  courage,  but  cowardice.  Neither  is  it  a  commendable 
courage  that  prompts  one  to  be  tyrannical  or  overbearing,  or 
quick  to  resent  an  insult  with  a  blow,  or  ever  ready  to  submit 
moral  questions  to  the  arbitrament  of  physical  strength  or  skill. 
If  the  true  test  of  merit  in  man  or  woman  is  found  in  the 
bull-dog  side  of  his  or  her  nature,  then  Sullivan  is  a  better 
man  than  Daniel  Webster,  and  Big  Bertha  a  better  woman 
than  Sarah  Cooper.  These  are  the  standards  of  barbarism— 
of  a  false  chivalry — that  makes  heroes  of  bullies  and  black- 
guards. The  courage  to  dare  and  do  in  a  good  cause  has 
nothing  in  common  with  that  courage  that  has  no  sound  back- 
ing in  moral  principle. 

<  HKISTMAS    TIMK. 

The  glad  Christmas  time  !  the  time  for  generous  deeds — for 
the  exercise  of  the  better  humanities  !  How  the  iron  nature 
glows  and  bends  in  the  white  heat  of  the  divine  thought  of  a  liv- 
ing Christ.  Strip  the  idea  of  all  supernaturalism  ;  make  him 
simply  and  naturally  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  ;  call  the 
story,  if  you  will,  a  romance,  a  myth  of  the  past,  and  yet  the 
Christ  idea  remains,  and  ever  will  remain,  to  call  forth  the 
best,  and  the  sweetest  in  human  nature.  It  is  then  we  recog- 
nize to  a  degree,  the  brotherhood  of  man  —  that  we  are  all 
•children  of  a  common  Father,  who  never  wearies  in  his  love  for 
us,  or  in  the  bestowing  of  his  bounties.  The  beautiful  Angel 
of  Charity,  all  mantled  with  the  smile  of  God,  walks  forth  in 
these  glad  Christmas  days,  into  the  byways  of  life,  carrying 


WHAT    CARE    WE.  l8l 

joy  and  comfort  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  poor.  Even 
the  poor  unfortunate  within  prison  bars  opens  the  wicket  of 
his  cell  to  bid  the  Divine  Guest  to  enter  in.  We  glory  in  the 
spirit  of  "peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  man,"  which  the  cele- 
bration of  the  birth  of  the  Christ-child  ever  brings  to  the  race. 


WHAT  CAKE  WE? 


What  care  we  now  for  the  pains  we  have  suffered  or  the 
sorrows  we  have  endured  in  the  past.  Is  nature  unkind  or 
God  cruel  because  sickness,  pain  and  death  is  the  common  lot 
of  humanity  ?  Is  the  calamity  of  the  cyclone,  or  the  scourge 
that  lays  waste  the  habitations  of  men,  an  evidence  of  a  malign 
influence  at  the  helm  of  the  Universe?  Not  at  all.  Should 
we  not  regard  all  such  seeming  evils  as  the  efforts  of  Old 
Nature  to  evolve  a  perfect  man  ?  A  hundred  years  from  now, 
what  will  it  matter  to  us  what  thorny  paths  we  are  now  tread- 
ing with  bleeding  feet?  Shall  we  not  then  be  able  to  see,  in 
the  clearer  light  of  eternity,  what  now  is  hidden  from  our  sight, 
and  know  of  a  verity  that  all  is  for  the  best  ?  The  child  can 
not  understand  the  wisdom  of  parental  restraint ;  but  there 
comes  a  time  when  it  is  made  clear  to  him,  and  he  recognizes 
it  as  a  blessing  in  disguise. 


THE    RIGHT    WAY. 

"As  ye  sow  so  also  shall  ye  reap.  "  There  was  never  a 
•truer  maxim.  Whether  it  be  of  good  thoughts  and  kind  acts, 
or  their  opposites.  If  ye  sow  idleness  and  dissipation  ye  reap 
poverty,  disease  and  early  death.  If  ye  sow  dishonor,  ye  reap 
its  sure  harvest  of  shame.  This  is  the  law,  founded  in  the 
^constitution  of  man.  It  is  the  code  of  the  moral  universe, 
whose  penalties  none  can  escape.  The  right  way  is  marked 
by  finger  posts  at  every  point  of  deviation ;  there  are  guide 
boards  at  every  pitfall.  Therefore,  why  should  any  err?  Yet 
notwithstanding  all  precautions  and  warnings,  many  there  be 


I  82  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

whose  footsteps  are  sure  to  wander  from  the  straight  and  beaten 
path.  Hence  the  wrecks  of  humanity  that  strew  the  shores  of 
time — the  "frightful  examples"  to  warn  others  of  the  dangers- 
of  wrong-doing — a  mighty  multitude  moving  down  to  the  gates- 
of  death.  O,  it  is  pitiable  ! 


There  is  no  life  so  complete  that  the  eye  of  Perfection 
may  not  see  in  it  many  defects.  It  is  this  imperfection  that 
makes  us  kin  with  all  humanity.  We  cannot  separate  our- 
selves from  our  kind.  We  are  a  part  of  all,  and  all  are  a  part  of  us- 
—  each  dependent  upon  every  other  —  each  a  help  or  hin- 
drance to  his  fellows.  And  this  unity  of  being  does  not  end 
with  this  life ;  it  embraces  all  conscious  intelligence  in  the  uni- 
verse, from  an  infant  angel  to  an  infinite  God,  with  whom  we 
are  all  ONE. 

*'  # 

The  Spiritualism  that  has  no  element  of  spirituality  in  it 
— the  Spiritualism  of  phenomenalism  and  sensuous  excitement 
solely — is  of  no  more  benefit  to  an  individual  than  the  fetich- 
ism  of  the  barbarian.  It  must  touch  the  soul  and  quicken, 
the  finer  qualities  of  the  man  into  activity — it  must  make  him 
grander,  more  gentle  and  charitable,  more  loving  and  kind — 
it  must  ennoble  him  in  every  department  of  his  physical  and 
spiritual  nature,  to  be  of  any  real  benefit  to  him.  This  is  the 
kind  of  Spiritualism  that  comes  of  the  higher  teachings  from, 
the  spirit  world. 

•£•     =!•• 

How  very,  very  brief,  at  its  longest,  is  mortal  life  !  We 
scarcely  reach  years  of  accountability  before  we  begin  to  note 
traces  of  decay  and  death.  The  locks  are  threaded  with  silver, 
the  eye  loses  its  luster,  and  ere  long  the  step  becomes  feeble 
with  the  palsy  of  approaching  dissolution.  Look  back,  ye- 
who  have  reached  life's  limit  of  years  !  How  like  a  swiftly 
fleeting  dream  does  it  not  all  seem!  And  what  a  hollow 
mockery  of  happiness  is  all  that  ministers  to  the  vanity  andi 


A    WORD    IN    YOUR    EAR.  183 

selfishness  of  earth  !  The  bright,  shining  gold  of  character  is 
all  that  is  of  value  to  the  spirit  now  that  it  is  about  to  lay  alh 
things  else  aside,  and  step  out  naked  into  the  new  life.  Is  it 
not  so,  O  Sire  ? 


A  WORD  IN  YOUR  EAR. 


Young  man,  a  word  in  your  ear.  We  know  you — we 
have- "trod  the  wine  press"  of  your  temptations — have  reveled 
in  your  hopes  and  aspirations.  If  you  were  driving  a  pair  of 
high  metaled  thoroughbreds,  how  taut  you  would  hold  the  reins  ; 
how  carefully  you  would  watch  every  motion.  No  wayside 
object  which  might  cause  them  fright  would  escape  your  notice. 
You  would  hold  them  steadily  to  their  work  to  your  journey's 
end.  Your  passions  and  appetites  are  those  high-strung 
chargers,  and  you,  your  better  self,  your  spiritual  nature,  are 
the  driver.  The  drinking  saloon,  the  haunts  of  so-called 
pleasure,  the  temptations  to  a  life  of  idleness,  these  are  the 
wayside  objects  you  must  guard  against,  and  which  will  require 
your  constant  vigilance.  Take  care  there  !  Hold  a  steady 
rein  !  The  vortex  of  a  wrecked  life  is  at  the  right,  and  danger 
and  death  at  the  left  and  just  before  you  !  Angels  are  watch- 
ing you.  Loved  ones  on  the  mortal  plane,  with  eager  eyes, 
are  hoping,  praying,  that  you  may  reach  your  journey's  end  in 
safety.  Oh,  disappoint  them  not  ! 

All  Nature  is  throbbing  with  life  divine — the  earth,  the 
air,  the  sea.  God  is  indeed  everywhere.  Upborne  on  the 
crest  of  the  wave  of  the  infinite  sea  of  life  is  man,  the  highest 
and  most  perfect  expression  of  God  in  matter.  On  and  on 
through  the  ages,  from  infinity  to  infinity,  the  work  of  man's 
spiritual  unfoldment  is  ever  progressing,  nearing  but  never 
reaching  absolute  perfection.  How  vast  the  thought!  The 
question  with  every  unfolded  soul  is  not,  "  What  is  man  that 
Thou  art  mindful  of  him?"  but,  "  What  is  God  that  He 
should  be  mindful  of  man?" 


184  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

IM  SKI)   WEALTH. 


It  is  impossible  for  one  to  hold  great  wealth  in  possession 
long  unused,  without  closing  the  avenues  of  the  spirit  to  those 
ennobling  graces,  those  beautiful  unfold ments,  that  distinguish 
right  royal  manhood  from  an  intelligent  animal.  "  Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  Mammon."  He  serves  Mammon  in  selfishly 
getting,  with  no  thought  of  generous  giving.  It  is  glorious  to 
be  able  to  give,  when  such  ability  finds  a  generous  response  in 
the  soul.  In  the  journey  and  struggle  of  life  there  are  so 
many  who  are  unable  to  bear  their  burdens  alone — and  then 
it  so  enlarges  one's  own  soul  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the 
weak — that  it  is  truly  grand  to  be  strong,  where  strength  is  thus 
used  for  the  good  of  others.  But  to  be  strong,  to  be  rich,  for  one's 
self  alone — ah,  that  is  what  shrinks  the  spirit. 


Some  people  are  always  looking  backward  ;  they  seem  to 
be  anchored  to  the  past.  Pride  of  ancestry,  tradition  of  opin- 
ion, what  has  been,  is  vastly  more  to  them  than  what  is,  or 
what  may  be.  Lucky  for  the  world — for  the  cause  of  human 
progress — that  some  there  are  who  have  but  little  respect  for 
tradition,  or  authority  of  opinion.  They  prefer  to  do  their  own 
thinking,  although  they  may  not  always  think  wisely.  They 
regard  it  as  far  more  creditable  to  believe  an  error,  or  come  to 
a  wrong  conclusion,  after  a  careful  examination  of  any  given 
subject,  than  to  accept  the  truth  blindly,  without  investigation. 
Of  such  is  ever  the  grand  army  of  reformers  in  the  world's 
ways  and  works. 

Why  plow  with  a  forked  stick,  or  carry  your  grist  to  the 
mill  with  your  corn  in  one  end  of  the  sack  and  a  stone  in  the 
other?  That  is  just  what  all  are  doing  who  pin  their  faith 
upon  the  sleeve  of  tradition.  The  evolution  of  humanity 
from  some  lower  form  of  life,  and  that  from  some  still 
lower  form,  reaching  back  through  aeons,  to  the  first  quiv- 


BELIEF.  185 

ering  protoplasm  or  jellyfish  throbbing  with  divine  impulse 
on  the  magin  of  some  paleozoic  sea,  is  a  fact  as  well  demon, 
strated  as  the  rotundity  of  the  earth.  Hence,  the  religious 
thought  adapted  to  the  infancy  of  the  race  is  but  mother's 
milk  to  the  full  grown  man.  And  hence,  again,  the  religion 
that  does  not  keep  step  to  the  march  of  human  progress,  must 
needs  stand  aside  and  give  place  to  something  better. 


HE  LIEF. 


There  is  no  virtue  —  there  can  be  none  —  in  mere  belief. 
It  is  not  what  a  man  believes  but  what  he  is  and  does  that 
makes  the  man.  If  one  believes  all  the  dogmas  of  Christianity, 
and  practices  iniquity,  no  evangelical  Christian  will  concede  to 
him  the  possibility  of  salvation.  On  the  other  hand,  if  one 
practices  every  Christian  virtue,  but  reject  the  dogmas  of  the 
churches,  they  regard  him  as  alike  lost  to  all  eternity.  Now  here 
is  a  strange  inconsistency.  If  it  is  really  the  practice  of  the 
virtues  that  saves  the  believer,  why  should  not  the  practice  of 
said  virtues  save  the  non-believer  ?  Honest  belief  is  a  matter 
of  evidence  and  conviction.  If  one  has  ever  been  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  a  religious  dogma,  and  has  no  conviction  there- 
of, how  is  it  possible  for  him  to  believe  ?  And  if  he  cannot 
believe  why  should  he  be  condemned  for  what  he  cannot  help? 
If  eternal  justice  is  an  attribute  of  Deity,  what  must  the  answer 
to  these  questions  necessarily  be  ? 


Trouble,  sickness,  and  sorrow  are  only  for  the  moment. 
We  never  seriously  regret  these  ills  when  they  have  passed  by. 
In  fact,  we  very  often  recognize  in  these  afflictions  much  needed 
and  helpful  lessons  of  life  and  duty.  The  lash  of  physical 
pain  is  often  necessary  to  keep  us  mindful  of  the  duty  we  owe 
to  our  bodies.  When  we  shall  reach  the  sunlit  shores  of 
the  Hereafter,  and  can  look  back  over  the  varied  experiences 
of  our  mortal  lives,  we  doubt  if  we  would  be  willing  to  part 


l86  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

with  a  single  pang,  physical  or  spiritual,  we  ever  endured. 
They  will  all  be  seen  to  have  had  their  divine  uses  in  shaping 
our  characters  for  good,  and  fitting  us  for  the  truer  enjoyment 
of  life  in  spirit  realms. 


IN    A   MANOEK. 

Christ  came  to  Joseph  and  Mary,  two  poor  young  people 
of  Nazareth,  ignoring  the  ostentation  and  pomp  in  which  the 
Jews  looked  for  him  to  come  ;  hence,  they  rejected  him.  The 
wonderful  manifestations  of  Modern  Spiritualism,  bearing  to 
the  world  the  positive  proofs  of  a  continued  existence  beyond 
the  grave,  came  first  to  three  young  people  in  humble  life  re- 
siding in  Western  New  York.  It  is  nearly  always  thus,  that 
through  the  weak  and  lowly  of  this  world — "  from  the  mouths  of 
babes  and  sucklings" — come  the  great  truths  that  confound 
the  wise,  and  the  wise  reject  them.  Truly,  "  God  moves  in  a 
mysterious  way  His  wonders  to  perform."  It  is  not  for  us  to 
question  His  methods,  but  to  accept  with  grateful  hearts  what- 
ever of  good  He  chooses  to  bestow  upon  us. 


"Try  the  spirits,"  is  an  injunction  quite  as  necessary  and 
important  in  these  days  as  in  those  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  an 
injunction,  also,  whereof  Spiritualists  should  take  heed  quite  as 
much  as  skeptics  or  unbelievers.  Above  all  things  should  we 
never  surrender  our  reason  or  common  sense.  If  some  mis- 
guided or  undeveloped  spirit,  representing  himself  as  some 
master- soul  of  by-gone  ages,  comes  to  us  with  folly  in  his  mes- 
sage, we  should  exercise  our  sovereign  right  of  judgment  to 
cast  him  aside  with  a  word  of  friendly  advice  to  mend  his  ways. 
Plato  and  Socrates  were  not  imbeciles  in  their  mortal  existence 
and  certainly  they  are  not  so  now. 

What  a  blessed  thing  is  death,  when  it  comes  in  the  full- 
ness of  time  to  relieve  the  spirit  of  its  worn-out  body.  With 


SUNSHINE.  187 

the  old  house  falling  into  decay  with  age,  the  roof  leaky,  and 
the  walls  mouldy  and  cheerless,  how  gladly  the  tenant — if  he 
has  lived  wisely  and  well — goes  forth  to  occupy  his  beautiful 
mansion  builded  for  him  in  the  Summer  Land.  There  should 
be  no  sorrow  in  old  age,  for  it  is  then  "we  are  almost  there," 
.and  the  glad  thought  should  fill  the  soul  with  delight.  The 
haven  lies  just  beyond  that  bank  of  clouds  we  call  death.  See 
ye  not  the  harbor  lights,  O  Sire,  and  thrills  not  your  spirit  with 
joys  of  the  home  gathering  so  near  at  hand? 
Jot 

SUNSHINE. 


Our  lives  should  be  full  of  sunshine,  no  matter  how  hard 
or  humble  the  lot  we  are  called  upon  to  fill ;  for  in  the  sun- 
light of  the  soul  we  can  all  the  better  bear  the  ills  that  may  be- 
fall us.  It  is  the  cheerful  spirit  that  suffers  the  least  in  sick- 
ness. The  shadows  of  physical  pain  will  often  flee  away  if  we 
•confront  them  in  a  spirit  of  gladness,  determined  to  accept 
whatever  comes  to  us  as  for  our  good.  Why  should  we  mope 
.and  mourn  over  earthly  losses,  when  such  losses  may  prove 
riches  to  us  in  the  Beyond?  Surely  our  houses  and  lands,  and 
our  treasures  of  gold  and  silver,  will  be  nothing  to  us  "over 
there,"  and  unless  we  use  them  wisely  here,  they  will  doubtless 
be  worse  than  useless — a  millstone  to  prevent  the  spirit  from  rising 
above  the  earth. 

PREJUDICE. 


Prejudice  is  a  terrible  bar  to  spiritual  growth.  We  know 
a  good  medium istic  lady,  who  would,  in  the  privacy  of  her 
own  home,  dearly  delight  to  permit  her  loved  ones  on  the  spirit 
shore  to  come  near  to  her,  but  is  positively  forbidden  by  her 
husband  to  enjoy  communion  therewith.  This  same  husband, 
when  their  little  five-year  old  daughter  was  languishing  on  a 
bed  of  mortal  sickness,  declared  that  he  would  prefer  that  she 
never  recover,  than  to  be  cured  by  Spiritual  Science.  And 


1 88  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

now  in  his  childless  home,  he  still  nurses  his  bitter  enmity 
toward  those  gentle  and  benign  influences,  those  loving  ones,, 
who,  in  sorrow,  are  made  to  turn  away  from  his  heart  and 
home.  Ah,  what  tears  he  may  yet  shed  in  this  life,  what 
agony  of  spirit  he  may  endure  in  the  next,  for  this  stubborness 
of  unreasoning  purpose,  only  the  pitying  angels  may  know. 
Old  Theology,  thou  distorter  of  the  truth,  thou  murderer  of 
helpless  babes,  what  crimes  hast  thou  not  to  answer  for  ! 


BLESSINGS  IN  DISGUISE. 


The  storm  and  the  tempest,  the  lightning's  vivid  flash,  the 
fierce  commotion  of  the  elements,  all  have  their  uses  in  the 
natural  world,  to  purify  the  air  and  clear  the  sky  of  clouds. 
We  breathe  more  freely  when  the  storm  is  past.  The  earth 
seems  cleaner,  the  birds  sing  with  a  sweeter  melody,  the  air  is 
fragrant  with  the  new,  fresh  breath  of  flowers.  So  is  it  with 
the  storms  that  at  times  sweep  over  the  human  spirit.  If  we 
but  bow  to  the  blast,  we  shall  rise  again  in  greater  strength, 
and  life  will  have  a  clearer  and  brighter  outlook  than  ever  be- 
fore. If  that  which  seems  to  be  an  affliction  is  accepted  in 
the  right  spirit,  it  then  becomes  as  a  refining  fire,  burning 
away  the  dross  and  impurities  of  our  natures,  and  leaving  in 
the  crucible  of  life  the  pure  gold  of  the  spirit.  Poverty,  sick- 
ness and  misfortune — all  are  blessings  in  disguise,  if  we  but 
learn  to  accept  them  as  such. 

RIGHTEOUS  JUDGMENT. 

How  apt  we  are  to  judge  matters  outside  of  ourselves  by 
our  own  moods  of  mind  !  Thus,  when  we  stand  above  the 
clouds,  upon  the  mountain  top,  all  things  around  us  are  bathed 
in  the  beautiful  sunlight ;  but  when  immersed  in  the  shadows 
of  the  valley,  we  see  only  gloom  in  our  surroundings.  This  is 
a  dreary,  dark,  and  dreadful  world,  says  the  misanthrope. 
How  bright  and  beautiful  is  nature,  responds  the  soul  aglow 


DON'T  CROWD.  18.9- 

with  happiness.  A  few  weeks  ago,  deeply  pained  at  the  frauds 
and  impostures  practiced  in  the  name  of  our  religion,  we 
wrote,  "Truly  the  evil  days  have  come  to  our  beautiful  Spirit- 
ualism." Now,  in  the  clearer  light  of  the  hilltop,  we  rejoice 
that  the  clouds  have  rolled  away.  We  wonder  if  the  prospect 
of  a  better  and  brighter  home  for  the  GOLDEN  GATE  has  any 
bearing  upon  our  changing  moods  of  mind  ! 

DON'T     CROW1>. 


Don't  crowd  !  The  world  is  big  enough  for  all.  Keep  to 
the  right  and  don't  joggle  your  neighbor.  Thus  will  you  make 
the  journey  easier  for  yourself  as  well  as  for  your  fellow  travelers 
to  the  grave.  The  grave  !  Did  it  never  occur  to  you,  dear 
reader,  that  that  is  the  one  place  in  all  creation  where  every- 
body minds  his  own  business.  There  is  no  crowding  there,  nor 
taking  an  unfair  advantage  of  a  fellow  tenant  in  common.  The 
highwayman  can  lie  alongside  the  honest  Granger  who  has  just 
sold  his  wheat,  without  the  slightest  desire  to  pick  his  pockets. 
The  one  "ewe  lamb"  of  the  widow's  heart  and  home  can  trust 
herself  there  with  the  cruel  spoiler.  There  is  no  envy,  or 
suspicion,  or  hatred  in  the  grave.  Parents,  what  though  your 
children  who  have  passed  out  of  your  sight,  return  not  home  to 
you  at  night,  our  word  for  it,  they  are  up  to  no  mischief  now. 
Look  for  them  beyond  the  shining  portals,  where  death  has 

lost  its  sting,  and  the  grave  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 

+r.+    

— +0+ — 

If  the  man  who  poisons  his  exhalations  with  tobacco  could 
only  realize  what  a  walking  stench  he  makes  of  himself  to  all 
clean  persons,  he  would  surely  abandon  the  nasty  habit.  But 
he  doesn't.  He  imagines  his  breath  to  be  as  sweet  as  the 
"  balm  of  a  thousand  flowers,"  when  in  fact  the  mal-odor  of  a 
tan  yard  is  attar  of  roses  in  comparison.  Many  a  sensitive  and 
finely  organized  wife  has  no  doubt  yielded  up  the  ghost  on  the 
altar  of  a  tobacco-smirched  husband — gone  up  higher  where 
the  air  is  purer. 


190  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENT'S. 

"  LIFE  UNTO  I.IFE." 

The  gift  of  mediumship  ennobles  or  degrades  its  possessor 
just  in  proportion  as  the  latter  exercises  it  for  the  good  of 
humanity,  or  for  his  own  selfish  advantage.  In  the  latter  case 
he  unwillingly  yokes  himself  with  all  the  selfishness  of  the 
universe,  and  undeveloped  and  mischievous  spirits  are  not 
^low  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  practice  their 
mischief  through  him.  But  if  his  beautiful  gift  is  ennobled 
with  a  sincere  desire  for  the  good  of  others,  and  a  subordination 
of  self  to  the  higher  aspirations  of  the  spirit,  it  then  becomes 
"a  savor  of  life  unto  life "  to  the  world.  Spiritualism  needs 
more  of  this  kind  of  mediumship.  It  is  the  kind  that  links  the 
mortal  to  the  angel,  and  calls  forth  the  purest  and  holiest  joys  and 
emotions  of  the  soul. 


GROPING  IN  DARKNESS. 


There  are  times  in  the  life  of  every  sensitive  soul,  we  care 
not  how  highly  unfolded,  when  it  seems  as  though  all  hope  and 
joy  had  fled  forever — when  one  can  but  grope  in  darkness,  and 
the  heavens  seem  shrouded  in  impenetrable  gloom.  It  is  then 
one  needs  some  strong  arm  on  which  to  lean — some  true  heart 
to  which  one  can  turn  for  sympathy  and  comfort,  until  the 
-clouds  have  passed  away.  Happy  the  mortal  who  possesses 
such  a  friend  !  These  Gethsemanes  of  sorrow  are  doubtless  a 
part  of  the  education  the  spirit  needs  to  fit  it  for  the  higher  life. 
It  is  then  the  Great  Assayer  of  character  stamps  upon  the 
burnished  ingot  of  the  soul  its  mint  value.  Then,  let  us 
welcome  the  cloud  and  the  storm — yea,  even  the  fierce  gleam 
•of  the  lightning's  wrath — as  the  furnace  fires  of  God's  loving 
purpose  in  moulding  us  into  his  image. 


Give,  if  you  would  be  happy — give  of  kind  thoughts  and 
gentle  words  always ;  they  are  often  more  precious  than  silver 
or  gold —  give  of  your  bounty  of  earthly  treasure ;  give  of  the 


A    GRAVE    MISTAKE.  19.1 

weetness  of  your  own  soul ;  give  freely  and  ungrudgingly,  to 
all  whom  it  is  in  your  power  to  bless.  We  are  told  that  "God 
loves  a  cheerful  giver."  We  are  quite  sure  t{\at  angels  do,  for 
do  they  not  always  tell  us  so  ? 

A  GRAVE  MISTAKE. 


It  is  generally  understood  among  investigators  of  psychic 
phenomena  that  the  qualities  essential  for  physical  mediumship 
are  quite  as  independent  of  conscience  or  morality  as  is  the 
gift  of  poetry  or  painting.  There  is  a  disposition  with  many 
Spiritualists  to  tolerate  dishonesty  in  mediums  for  the  sake  of 
their  mediumship.  This  a  grave  mistake,  and  leads  to  dis- 
aster to  the  cause.  And  here  we  should  learn  to  discriminate 
between  the  work  of  tricky  or  undeveloped  spirits,  who  some- 
times use  mediums  to  their  disadvantage,  and  the  practice  of 
deliberate  fraud,  such  as  the  employment  of  confederates,  the 
use  of  prepared  paraphernalia,  etc.  In  the  former  case  we 
should  be  lenient  and  charitable  ;  in  the  latter,  it  is  wrong  to 
both  spirits  and  mortals  to  seek  to  condone  or  palliate.  Such 
mediums  should  be  "  driven  from  the  synagogue,"  and  made 
to  do  penance  until  they  can  reform  their  ways.  The  medium 
who  cheats  in  one  phase  should  not  be  credited  or  tolerated  in 
any  other. 

What  an  unnatural  idea  of  the  All-Good  has  orthodoxy 
given  to  the  world  !  Take  Galvanism,  with  its  cruel  doctrine 
of  election  to  eternal  misery  ;  take  that  "  mathematical  con- 
tradiction," as  Ingersoll  styles  it,  known  as  the  Trinity,  which 
nobody  can  explain  or  understand  ;  take  the  atonement — the 
shifting  of  the  sins  of  the  world  upon  the  shoulders  of  a  pure 
and  innocent  person,  and  then  killing  him  to  satisfy  Eternal 
Justice  ; — in  short,  take  the  infantile  stories  of  the  Creator, 
running  through  both  Testaments,  and  how  puerile  they  all 
seem  to  the  enlightened  reason.  Such,  surely,  is  not  the  God 
that  all  Nature  worships. 


1 9  2.  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS . 

A  person  visiting  foreign  lands  finds  it  necessary  for  his 
convenience  to  change. his  money  into  the  current  coin  of  the 
realm  whither  he  goes.  Here  is  a  hint  to  those  about  to  visit 
the  realm  of  the  " Beyond."  But  how,  do  you  ask,  can  the 
traveler,  in  this  case,  change  his  wealth  into  currency  that  will 
be  of  any  use  to  him  "over  there?"  We  answer,  he  must 
spiritualize  it,  that  is,  convert  it  into  noble  deeds  for  the  up- 
lifting of  humanity.  He  who  gives  wisely  receives.  As  his 
deposits  diminish  here  they  increase  there.  Every  rich  man 
has  it  in  his  power  to  enter  spirit  life  a  prince;  or  he  may  go, 
as  goes  the  galley  slave,  "scourged  to  his  dungeon"  by  the 
lash  of  his  own  selfishness. 


* 
*  * 


God  does  not  expect  us  to  be  eternally  praising  Him. 
He  has  no  vanity  requiring  any  such  adulation  from  the  chil- 
dren of  His  creation.  Neither  does  He  expect  us  to  go  through 
life  mourning  continually  for  our  sins.  But  He  does  by  His 
Spirit  appeal  to  us  to  be  manly,  to  be  upright,  to  be  charitable 
and  kind,  to  be  true  and  steadfast  to  the  monitor  within,  to  be 
wise  rulers  of  the  temple  we  live  in,  and  so  live  that  when  the 
last  summons  comes,  each  and  every  one  may  leave  the  world 
better  than  he  found  it. 


* 
*  * 


There  is  no  joy  like  love,  no  pain  like  hate.  In  one 
blossom  all  the  delights  of  life — health,  companionship,  spiritual 
growth,  and  at  last,  and  including  all,  heaven  itself.  In  the 
other  we  behold  all  hideous  shapes,  phantoms  of  fear,  grim  horrors 
of  despair,  the  fungus  growth  of  disease  and  death.  The  man 
or  woman  who  passes  through  life  unloving  and  unloved, 
misses  "by  an  infinite  waste  of  barren  years  "  the  road  to  true 
happiness. 

*  * 

The  Spiritualist  whose  faith  is  shaken  in  our  grand  truths, 
and  who  is  disposed  to  reject  the  whole,  because  forsooth  he 


A    WIDE    GULF. 


may  have  been  deceived  by  some  confederate  playing  spirit  at 
a  materializing  seance,  would  throw  all  his  gold  into  the  sea 
because  he  found  a  spurious  coin  in  his  pocket. 


A   WIDE    GULF. 


There  is  a  wide  gulf  betwen  the  teachings  of  Jesus  and 
the  ironclad  creeds  of  the  churches.  True,  it  is  claimed  that 
the  latter  are  the  natural  deductions  of  the  former;  but  are 
they  ?  How  do  we  know  really  what  Jesus  taught.  There 
were  no  short  hand  reporters  in  his  day.  It  is  claimed  by  wise 
scholars  that  no  record  of  the  sayings  or  teachings  of  Christ 
was  made  until  some  three  hundred  years  after  his  death. 
That  he  taught  the  principles  of  love,  charity  and  good  will  to 
man,  and  that  he  practiced  the  wonderful  gift  of  healing,  we 
can  well  believe ;  but  that  he  ever  taught  the  dogmas  of  eccle- 
siasticism  we  may  well  question.  Christianity,  pure  and  sim- 
ple, is  goodness,  all  else  is  the  mere  speculation  of  a  priest- 
hood seeking  for  ecclesiastical  power.  Love  is  superior  to 
law  or  belief.  Whose  heart  is  full  of  love  for  his  fellow  beings 
never  has  time  or  place  to  bother  with  the  dogmatic  teachings  of 
ecclesiasticism. 


SURE    INDICATIONS. 


The  state  of  one's  own  spiritual  unfoldment  is  invariably 
determined  by  one's  expressed  thoughts  of  others.  If  one 
thinks  kindly  and  speaks  kindly  of  others,  no  matter  how 
great  or  many  their  failings  may  be,  it  is  a  sure  indication  of  a 
beautiful  spirit.  Such  an  one  sees  only  the  good  there  is  in 
their  neighbors  —  for  there  is  good  in  all.  The  worst  person 
living  has  some  good  traits  —  some  vritues,  that  commend 
themselves  to  the  good,  and  which  such  souls  invariably  rec- 
ognize, and  are  ever  ready  to  encourage  and  uphold.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  those  who  seemingly  take  delight  in  the 
shortcomings  and  weaknesses  of  their  fellow  beings — to  whom 


Ip4  SPIRITUAL   FRAGMENTS.      ., 

an  unsavory  scandal  is  a  "  sweet  morsel  under  the  tongue," 
which  they  will  repeat  with  an  unction  that  is  truly  painful  to 
the  highly  unfolded  spirit.  Blessed  and  beautiful  is  the  man 
or  woman  who  thinks  no  ill. 


ADJUSTMENT  OF  SELF  TO  ENVIRONMENT 

It  is  evidently  the  privilege  as  it  is  the  duty  of  every  in- 
dividual to  get  out  of  life  all  the  happiness  possible.  This 
can  be  accomplished  only  through  the  possession  of  a  healthy 
physical  body,  and  a  proper  adjustment  of  one's  self  to  one's 
environment  As  moral  beings  we  cannot  be  happy  at  the 
expense  or  unhappiness  of  another.  We  can  not  trench  upon 
another's  rights  in  this  respect.  Herein  is  where  man  differs 
from  the  brute.  The  latter  recognizes  only  the  law  of  might, 
and  its  happiness  consists  only  of  physical  enjoyment.  The 
big  dog  has  no  pricking  of  conscience  for  robbing  the  smaller 
one  of  its  bone.  Some  men  are  made  so  nearly  in  that  way 
that  they  can  enjoy  ill-gotten  gains.  Whoever  can  should 
know  thereby  that  there  is  something  wrong  with  them,  and 
that  they  will  have  a  long  way  to  climb  before  they  can  reach  a 
perfect  manhood. 


Spiritualists,  of  all  other  people,  need  to  "hold  themselves 
level" — for  the  reason  that  they  are  brought  face  to  face, 
often,  with  facts  and  phenomena  of  a  most  startling  character. 
They  should  weigh  well  and  carefully  consider  the  startling 
manifestations  they  are  permitted  to  witness ;  and  especially 
should  they  not  attempt  to  force  their  conclusions,  in  any  dog- 
matic way,  upon  the  minds  and  consciences  of  their  neighbors. 
Everybody  needs,  and  must  have,  the  positive  proof  in  his  own 
experience.  He  will  take  no  one's  word,  in  spiritual  matters, 
implicitly.  The  advocate  of  the  phenomenal  facts  of  Spiritual- 
ism, whereof  he  has  had  convincing  proof,  should  remember 
this. 


FORTUNE'S  LADDER.  195 

FORTUNE'S  LADDEK. 

Some  good  souls  wonder  why  it  is  that,  with  their  charitable 
natures,  good  intentions,  and  industrious  and  temperate  habits, 
they  should  always  be  at  the  bottom  of  fortune's  ladder,  while  oth- 
er people,  wanting  in  all  these  virtues,  revel  in  abundance.  They 
seem  to  think  that  in  some  way  Providence  is  not  dealing  fairly 
with  them.  Now,  if  the  "abundance"  their  hearts  long  for  were 
the  highest  end  of  being,  and  there  were  no  hereafter  in  which 
to  adjust  the  losses  and  apparent  mistakes  of  time,  they  might 
reasonably  conclude  that  there  was  some  injustice  in  the  divine 
order  of  things.  But  Nature  has  all  space  and  all  eternity  in 
which  to  strike  her  balances.  In  her  own  way  and  in  her  own 
good  time,  we  doubt  not,  it  will  be  found  that  she  has  dealt 
fairly  by  all,  and  each  one  will  see  and  realize  that  whatever  his- 
lot  in  life  may  have  been,  that  however  great  the  seeming 
disparity  between  his  own  condition  and  that  of  others,  it  was- 
the  very  best  condition  for  him — best  suited  to  the  higher 
needs  of  his  spirit.  In  this  faith  we  should  live,  and  therein 
we  could  get  out  of  life  its  highest  measure  of  happiness  for 
ourselves. 

The  man  who  is  eternally  muck-raking  for  the  evil  in  his 
neighbors,  sometimes  finds  his  own  gutters  and  back  yards 
exposed  and  overhauled  in  a  way  he  little  dreamed  of.  It  is 
not  Christ-like  to  strike  back,  but  there  are  cases  where  nature 
puts  in  a  plea  of  justifiable  homicide,  and  the  world,  which  is- 
far  from  just,  looks  on  and  commends. 

How  can  we  get  the  best  out  of  life?  This  is  a  question 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  every  human  soul.  Here  are  a  few 
simple  negations  that  may  help  to  answer  the  question  satisfac- 
torily, ist,  Not  by  indulgence  in  liquor,  tobacco,  or  late 
hours;  or  by  any  abuse  of  the  temple  of  the  soul.  2nd,  Not 
by  harboring  unworthy  thoughts,  or  thinking  unkindly  of  any 


196  SPIRITUAL  FRAGMENTS. 

"human  being.  3rd,  Not  by  selfishly  shutting  ourselves  out 
from  the  great  world  of  humanity  and  its  pressing  needs ;  and 
4th,  Not  by  barring  the  windows  of  our  souls  to  the  light  and 
love  of  the  spirit  world. 


COMPLAINING. 


Some  one  has  wisely  said,  -'There  are  two  things  man 
4t  should  never  trouble  himself  about — the  unpleasant  things  he 
/'can  help  and  correct,  and  the  things  he  cannot."  Of  course, 
the  evils  he  can  alleviate  he  should  set  himself  at  the  task  of 
•correcting,  and  those  that  are  beyond  his  reach  it  will  do  him 
not  the  slightest  good  to  fret  about.  Some  people  waste  their 
lives  in  complaining,  and  thereby  they  invite  all  manner  of 
•causes  for  complaint.  We  have  known  families  whose  homes 
were  but  little  less  than  apothecary  shops,  so  vast  was  the  array 
of  all  manner  of  medicine  bottles  in  sight.  The  result  was 
that  there  was  some  one  in  said  homes  always  ailing.  Whereas, 
if  they  would  take  Shakespeare's  advice,  "  Throw  physic  to  the 
dogs,"  welcome  the  air  and  sunlight  to  their  bed  rooms,  and, 
above  all,  quit  thinking  themselves  sick  ;  or,  if  they  are  a  little 
out  of  harmony,  forget  themselves  in  the  alleviation  of  the 
•miseries  of  others,  they  might  soon  laugh  at  their  follies  and 
infirmities.  The  trouble  with  most  people  is  they  think  too 
much  about  themselves — their  aches  and  pains,  their  poverty 
or  their  riches,  their  likes  and  dislikes,  when  their  true  way  to 
happiness  would  be  to  turn  their  thoughts  away  to  the  great 
world  of  wrong  and  misery  around  them,  and  by  every  effort  in 
their  power  work  to  lift  the  burdens  of  others. 


Sensible  minds  do  not  judge  Christianity  by  the  horrors 
of  the  Inquisition,  nor  by  the  cruel  wars  that  for  ages  followed 
in  its  trail,  nor  by  its  persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  nor  by  its 
occasional  delinquents  from  grace;  but  by  the  good  it  has 
done,  for  the  sad  hearts  it  has  made  glad,  and  for  the  heavy 


'    ACTING    ONE'S    BEST.       *  197 

burdens  of  woe  it  has  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  the  race. 
Why  should  not  Spiritualism  be  judged  by  the  same  charitable 
and  righteous  j  udgment?  Because  bad  people  sometimes  use  it  for 
a  cloak  for  unrighteous  deeds,  therefore  should  it  be  condemned? 
Shall  its  blessings  to  the  world  be  rejected,  because  mediums 
-are  not  all  honest,  nor  Spiritualists  all  good  and  pure  ? 


ACTING  ONE'S   BEST. 


What  a  world  this  would  be  if  all  would  live  and  act  their 
best  —  that  is,  as  they  could  live,  if  they  would,  notwithstanding 
all  their  imperfections,  all  their  ignorance,  and  all  their  tendency 
to  evil.  The  toper  would  cease  his  tippling,  and  save  his  earn- 
ings to  carry  joy  to  his  family  ;  the  wrong  doer  of  every  description 
would  turn  from  his  evil  practices  and  live  in  the  better  side  of 
his  nature.  Fault-finding,  cross-grained  husbands  and  wives 
would  become  lovers  again,  and  their  children  would  rejoice 
-and  grow  up  in  the  sunshine  of  happy  homes.  We  should 
then  only  hear  good  of  everybody.  The  seller  would  consult 
the  interests  of  the  buyer,  and  the  buyer  of  the  seller.  We 
should  all  take  a  friendly  interest  in  each  other's  welfare,  and 
together  jog  along  happily  side  by  side  to  the  better  country. 
Is  it  not  glorious  to  think  such  things  possible? 


PITIABLE. 


"Charity  suffereth  long  and  is  kind."  One  of  the  most 
pitiable  things  in  the  universe  is  a  man  without  charity  in  his 
soul.  He  is  usually  one  so  puffed  up  in  his  own  conceit  that 
he  becomes  indifferent  to  the  ills  or  trials  of  another.  The 
prayer  of  every  true  soul  should  be  :  "  Help  us,  thou  pure  and 
shining  ones,  to  bear  each  other's  burdens,  and  to  sympathize 
with  the  weak  and  unfortunate  in  their  troubles  and  afflictions." 
Did  it  never  occur  to  you,  dear  reader,  that  you  might  have 
been  a  thief  or  a  drunkard?  Is  it  any  virtue  of  yours  that  you 
are  not  ?  It  is  much  more  to  the  credit  of  some  men  that 


198  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

they  are  only  moderately  bad,  than  it  is  to  others  that  they  are 
really  good.  To  the  latter  it  may  be  quite  impossible  to  be 
otherwise ;  while  it  may  cost  the  former  a  hard  struggle  not  to- 
be  worse. 

§o§ 

IMMENSITY  OF  THE  UNIVERSE. 


Did  you  ever  try  to  realize  the  immensity  of  the  universe,, 
of  which  our  little  world  is  the  smallest  of  tens  of  thousands  ? — 
stars  so  remote  that  a  ray  of  light  traveling  at  the  rate  of  near- 
ly 200,000  miles  a  second,  would  require  centuries  to  reach* 
the  earth  ?  The  mind  is  utterly  powerless  to  grasp  such  dis- 
tances. Man,  of  his  own  powers,  is  only  cognizant  of  a  few 
things,  and  those  of  a  certain  dimension.  Reaching  upward 
with  the  telescope,  and  downward  with  the  microscope,  he  is 
able  to  unveil  new  worlds  and  countless  forms  of  life  that  were 
entirely  beyond  his  grasp  before.  Think  you,  with  these  helps 
to  his  eyesight,  he  has  reached  the  limits  of  life  or  space?' 
Far  from  it.  There  is  still  infinitude  beyond.  The  measure- 
less expanse  of  ether  is  doubtless  filled  with  life,  tangible  and 
real  to  a  finer  than  mortal  sense.  And  so  the  Psalmist  might 
well  exclaim,  "What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  "' 
A  mere  speck  on  the  object  glass  of  God's  great  microscope. 

PURPOSES  OF  CREATION. 


Who  that  has  stood  by  the  bedside  of  a  dying  child,  and' 
watched  its  fluttering  pulse  and  labored  breathing,  but  has  felt, 
somehow,  that  the  purposes  of  creation  in  that  life  had  been 
thwarted — that  the  earth  experience  which  is  believed  to  be 
necessary  for  the  spirit's  highest  unfoldment,  having  been 
denied  in  this  case,  a  great  wrong  had  been  done  to  the  child — 
that  Nature  had  not  been  just  or  fair  in  the  distribution  of  her 
favors.  Herein,  we  think,  may  be  found  one  of  the  strongest 
reasons  favoring  re-embodiment.  Not  that  it  is  a  reason  at 
all ;  but  it  looks  somewhat  that  way  to  the  "  mortal  mind.'"' 


CONTENTMENT.  199 

The  spirit  that  seeks  earth  expression  and  fails,  ought,  surely, 
to  have  a  chance  to  try  again  —  that  is,  if  the  spirit  is  permitted 
any  voice  in  the  matter. 

--  <50§  -  -- 
CONTENTMENT. 

It  is  not  what  one  has  that  brings  one  happiness,  but  what 
one  is  contented  with.  There  is  many  a  sad  heart,  worried 
mind,  and  sickly  body,  linked  to  a  large  bank  account.  An 
elegant  home  is  but  a  poor  comfort  to  one  with  a  skeleton  in 
the  closet.  Infinitely  better  a  life  of  daily  toil  and  a  humble 
cot  with  health  and  contentment.  A  man  with  a  cancer  in 
his  throat  may  be  Emperor  of  Germany,  or  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  where  is  the  peasant,  or  day  laborer,  that 
would  exchange  places  and  conditions  with  him.  Give  us  to 
know  the  truth,  in  health  and  peace,  with  a  heart  in  sympathy 
with  humanity,  and  we  care  not  who  rides  in  his  carriage,  or 
revels  in  his  riches. 


"  With  charity  for  all  and  maljce  toward  none,"  —  this  was 
the  actuating  motive  of  that  grand  soul,  Abraham  Lincoln,  in 
his  dealings,  as  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with  those 
misguided  sons  of  the  South  who  were  seeking  the  overthrow 
of  the  Republic.  What  nobler  or  better  rule  of  action  could 
.one  adopt  in  his  intercourse  with  the  world,  and  especially  in  his 
dealings  with  those  he  believes  to  be  in  error.  Suppose  you 
try  it,  dear  reader,  for  a  single  day. 

.••:•• 
*  * 

An  intelligent  friend  of  the  writer,  working  long  hours  on 
a  small  salary  —  one  much  given  to  speculating  on  the  philos- 
ophy and  wherefore  of  human  existence,  —  remarked  to  us, 
recently,  that  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  a  future  life 
was  not  desirable.  We  replied  that  whether  desirable  or  not, 
did  not  change  the  fact  —  he  would  surely  continue  to  live 
after  the  change  we  call  death;  that  the  true  business  of  this 


200  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

life  is  to  bring  ourselves  into  harmony  with  nature,  make  the 
best  of  our  opportunities,  and  do  all  the  good  we  can,  thereby 
the  better  preparing  the  spirit  for  the  activities  and  enjoyments 
of  the  life  to  come.  Looked  at  in  a  true  light,  hard  work  and 
even  poverty,  may  become  blessings. 

PJSHVKttSION   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

It  is  not  Christianity,  but  the  perversion  thereof,  that  the 
skeptical  world  can  justly  condemn.  Christianity,  as  embod- 
ied in  the  simple  teachings  of  Jesus,  is  one  thing,  and  as  di- 
verted and  perverted  through  the  channels  of  human  selfish- 
ness, pride,  ambition  and  the  lusts  of  the  mortal  mind,  is  quite 
another.  The  philosophy  and  higher  teachings  of  Spiritualism 
simply  divest  Christianity  of  its  crudities  and  imperfections, 
and  restore  it  to  the  world  in  all  its  original  purity  and 
beanty.  What  is  there  in  the  practice  and  the  teachings 
of  the  "Man  of  Sorrows,"  who  "went  about  doing  good,'1 
and  who  "had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,"  that  is  in 
anywise  in  common  with  the  aristocratic  religion  of  a 
modern  fashionable  Christian  Church  ?  They  are  as  far 
apart  as  the  East  is  from  the  West.  Jesus  came  to  his 
disciples,  in  bodily  form,  after  his  transition  to  spirit  life. 
Does  he  ever  come  to  the  haughty  purse-proud  believers  in 
him  now-a-days  ?  In  mortal  life  he  healed  the  sick  by  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  and  plainly  taught  that  "greater  things 
than  these,"  should  be  done  by  those  who  followed  him  in  the 
spirit.  If  he  told  the  truth  then  who  are  his  true  disciples 
now  ? 

In  tens  of  thousands  of  homes  to-day,  through  one  or 
more  members  of  the  household,  comes  the  beautiful  inspira- 
tion of  the  angel  world.  Wives,  mothers,  and  daughters,  and 
oftentimes  husbands  and  sons,  in  vast  numbers,  are  develop- 
ing spiritual  powers,  often  where  they  little  dreamed  such  pow- 


OLD    AGE.  201 

ers  possible.  In  .all  such  cases,  where  the  aspirations  and  de- 
sires for  the  good  and  pure  prevail,  there  is  a  quiet  work  o£ 
spiritual  enlightment  and  unfoldment  steadily  progressing,  rev- 
olutionizing, harmonizing  and  sweetening  family  life  as  none 
but  those  thus  blessed  can  understand. 


OL.D  AGE. 

"  O,  the  horrors  of  old  age  !  "  exclaimed,  a  bright  lady 
friend  of  the  writer  recently  :  "To  feel  that  one's  youthful 
"  charms  are  fading  away,  and  the  once  fair  features  becoming 
"  wrinkled  with  age  —  is  it  not  terrible?"  Not  at  all,  we  re- 
plied, if  one's  spirit  has  profited  as  it  ought  by  its  earth  experi- 
ences. There  is  no  beauty  like  that  of  a  beautiful  spirit.  The 
woman  who,  at  fifty,  has  not  come  to  realize  this  fact  has  lived 
to  a  poor  purpose,  and  now  learns  too  late  that  she  has  "  built 
her  house  upon  the  sand."  No  one,  with  the  brains  of  a 
chickadee,  can  look  into  the  face  of  a  truly  spiritual  woman  — 
one  who  has  grown  with  her  years  into  the  higher  graces  and 
glories  of  true  womanhood  —  and  ever  detect  a  wrinkle  there. 
But  it  is  a  sad  thing  when  wrinkles  come  upon  the  spirit. 


SHALL  I  GIVE  UP  MY  RELIGION  ?  " 


"Shall  I  give  up  my  religion — the  religion  of  my  ances- 
"try — the  religion  of  the  Bible — for  a  belief  in  Spiritualism?" 
Inquires  some  anxious  soul  first  brought  face  to  face  with  some 
unanswerable  fact  of  our  spiritual  philosophy.  By  no  means? 
we  answer.  You  need  give  up  nothing  in  your  religion  that  is 
of  the  slightest  value  to  you — not  a  principle  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  nor  of  Christ's  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  fables  of 
your  faith — such  as  a  belief  in  a  lost  world,  a  vicarious  atone- 
ment, a  literal  resurrection  of  the  body,  eternal  punishment,  a 
personal'devil,  etc., — these  you  will  naturally  outgrow,  because 
they  are  all  inconsistent  with  the  constitution  of  the  Universe, 
and  man's  higher  spiritual  unfoldment.  "But  the  Bible  teaches 


202  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

these  things,"  do-  you  say  ?  Well,  the  Bible  is  the  work  of 
man,  in  its  makeup,  at  least,  else  no  "revision"  would  be 
necessary.  There  is  surely  much  of  it  that  could  not  possibly 
be  the  "word  of  God,"  or  of  that  divine  inspiration  which  is 
the  same  in  kind  through  all  ages  and  forever. 

*** 

The  higher  spiritual  development — that  is,  development 
of  the  greatest  use  and  benefit  to  the  mediums  and  their  im- 
mediate surroundings — can  come  to  those  only  who  take  the 
least  thought  of  themselves,  or  of  the  pecuniary  advantages 
that  may  accrue  to  them  from  the  exercise  of  their  gifts.  Not  that 
a  good  medium,  who  gives  his  entire  time  to  others,  is  not  en- 
titled to  reasonable  compensation  for  his  services,  especially  if 
it  is  his  only  means  of  livelihood ;  but  unless  the  money  con- 
sideration is  a  secondary  matter  wholly,  and  the  good  that  he 
can  do  of  the  first  importance,  his  own  spiritual  nature  derives 
no  benefit  from  his  gifts. 

Who  values  life  for  its  sensuous  enjoyment  and  pleasures 
only,  will  wake  up  some  day  to  a  terrible  realization  of  the  fact 
that  his  ships,  that  sailed  away  in  early  life  with  such  bright 
hopes,  have  all  been  lost  at  sea — gone  down  with  their  rich 
cargoes  of  golden  promises  and  possibilities — to  return  to  him 
no  more  forever.  The  young  woman  who  lives  to  be  admired 
for  her  physical  charms,  at  the  expense  of  the  more  enduring 
graces  of  the  spirit — who  delights  in  the  adulation  and  flattery 
of  brainless  dudes — feeds  her  soul  upon  husks.  Spiritual  star- 
vation with  her  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

What  must  be  the  rich  man's  feelings  when  he  first  wakes 
up  in  the  world  "  beyond  the  sunrise,"  to  find  that  "his  pockets 
have  been  picked  by  the  burglar  Death,  of  the  keys  to  his  safe 
— when  he  realizes  that,  forevermore,  he  can  have  no  more 
handling  of  his  gold?  How  it  must  sicken  his  soul  to  see 


SOMETHING    BETTER. 


his  accumulations  scattered  by  profligate  heirs,  or  wasted  in 
unprofitable  litigation.  Better  oblivion  than  such  a  fate.  How 
many  such  we  could  all  name,  whose  souls  are  thus  chained  to 
^'night's  Plutonian  shore." 


SOMETHING  KETTEK. 


To  denounce  one's  errors  of  belief,  is  not  the  way  to 
•correct  one  of  those  errors.  You  must  show  him  something 
better  in  your  own  belief,  something  that  will  appeal  to  his 
higher  spiritual  nature.  In  the  bitter  denunciation  of  the 
-churches,  as  practiced  by  some  Spiritualists,  they  are  but  putting 
far  away  the  conversion  of  church  members  and  religionists  to 
the  grand  truths  of  Spiritualism.  You  cannot  hurt  a  fellow  man  in 
the  most  vital  part  of  his  nature — his  religious  opinions — and 
expect  him  to  love  you.  You  cannot  lift  a  man  up  by  knocking 
him  down.  You  can  win  him,  if  at  all,  only  by  showing  him 
the  better  way,  and  by  walking  therein  yourself.  Don't  extol 
your  own  religious  opinions  over  those  of  your  neigbor,  except 
by  showing  and  comparing  the  fruits  thereof.  This  standard 
of  excellence  would  naturally  make  us  humble.  What  have 
we  done?  What  are  we  doing? 


The  mighty  influx  of  spirit  power  now  inundating  the 
planet,  will,  in  the  fullness  of  .time,  bring  all  humanity  under 
its  divine  influence.  It  is  the  "  beginning  of  the  end,"  fore- 
told by  ancient  seers — the  end  of  the  old  in  religious  thought, 
the  end  of  oppression  and  wrong,  the  end  of  the  retarding  in- 
fluences that  have  so  long  bound  the  souls  of  men  in  bonds  of 
error  and  superstition.  The  glory  of  the  "  new  heavens  and 
the  new  earth,"  spoken  of  by  John  in  the  Apocalypse,  is  about 
to  be  revealed  to  the  sons  of  men  —  is  even  now  breaking  up- 
on the  wondering  vision  of  thousands  of  earth's  children. 
"Hosannah  to  the  Lord  in  the  highest — peace  on  earth — good 
will  to  men." 


2 04  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

A    CONSTANT    STRUGGLE. 


Life,  with  many,  is  a  constant  struggle ;  and  yet  is  not  that 
very  struggle  just  the  kind  of  experience  needed  to  bring  forth, 
the  richest  fruits  of  the  spirit  ?  As  bodily  exercise  makes  the 
muscles  strong,  so  does  the  push  and  effort  necessary  to  over- 
come obstacles  in  material  things  give  to  the  spirit  the  vigor 
and  strength  it  needs.  Some  people  think  because  they  have 
not  prospered  in  worldly  ways — have  not  accumulated  wealth, 
or  may  even  have  failed  in  business — that  they  are  necessarily  fail- 
ures as  men  and  women  ;  when  the  fact  may  be  that  they  have 
won  grand  victories  over  themselves — that  they  have  come  off 
conquerors  over  many  things,  and  have  made  for  themselves  a 
karma  that  shall  be  white  and  lustrous  with  the  glow  of  divine 
love  and  light  in  the  "  world  beyond  the  river."  Human  judg- 
ment is  fallible — our  plans,  in  worldly  mattters,  may  fail,  and 
our  ships  return  to  us  empty  laden;  but  what  of  that?  Are 
we  to  be  blamed  because  the  harvest  we  hoped  to  reap  was 
blighted,  or  the  worthy  venture  upon  which  we  risked  our  all 
proved  a  failure  ?  There  is  a  fruition  richer  by  far  than  argo- 
sies of  treasure,  and  that  is  the  harvest  of  soul. 


POOR  FELLOW." 


We  heartily  concur  with  the  dramatist  who  said,  "Fools 
are  they  who  seek  for  happiness  and  pass  by  love  in  the  pur- 
suit." The  unmarried  man  is  more  or  less  selfish,  especially 
if  he  is  able  to  maintain  a  home,  and  capable  of  making  some 
good  woman  happy.  He  spends  his  days  in  the  keen  pursuit 
of  trade,  and  his  nights  in  a  more  or  less  destructive  form  of 
dissipation  at  his  club,  and,  ere  long,  his  kidneys  go  back  on 
him,  and  "the  wheel  at  the  fountain  is  still."  No  loving  wife 
bends  over  him  with  a  farewell  kiss  ;  no  children  join  the  regu- 
lation procession  that  follows  his  remains  to  the  grave.  "  Poor 
fellow  !  we  shall  miss  him  at  the  club,"  spoken  between  drinks, 
by  some  fellow  bachelor,  is  the  nearest  approach  to  a  sigh  of 


OF  THE 

XTKIVERSITY 

~ 


DISTRUSTS^     ***nMh.  2O5 


regret  at  his  departure.  The  Club  is  a  monstrous  carbuncle 
on  the  neck  of  society.  In  fact,  any  form  of  social  life  whence 
woman  is  excluded,  is  unnatural  and  wicked.  The  man  who 
goes  through  life  unmarried,  unloving  and  unloved,  misses,  by 
an  infinite  waste  of  barren  years,  the  road  to  true  happiness. 

DISTRUST. 

The  very  worst  condition  of  mind  that  one  can  bring 
himself  into  is  that  of  general  distrust  —  that  is,  to  doubt  the 
honor  and  honesty  of  every  one  with  whom  he  is  brought  into 
business  or  social  relations.  Of  course  it  is  well  to  be  cau- 
tious against  indiscriminate  confidence  in  people  one  doesn't 
know,  but  w,e  hold  that  if  one  will  endeavor  to  cultivate  his 
intuitive  faculties  —  his  sixth  sense  —  he  will  not  be  apt  to  be 
deceived.  Besides,  it  is  better  to  be  deceived  occasionally 
than  to  lose  faith  in  our  fellow-beings.  We  should  look  on  the 
bright  side  of  life,  and  recognize  the  good  there  is  in  all.  Only 
thus  can  we  best  aid  the  erring  up  the  steeps  of  life,  and  at 
the  same  time  bring  our  own  spirits  into  the  best  condition  for 
healthy  growth  and  unfoldment. 


CENTRAL  POINT  OF  TWO   ETERNITIES. 


Which  is  the  most  to  man's  credit — to  come  down  from 
an  angel  by  some  moral  cataclysm,  like  that  mentioned  in  the 
Mosaic  fable  of  creation  ;  or  come  up  from  some  type  of  an- 
thropoidal  ape,  in  accordance  with  Darwin's  theory  of  devel- 
opment ?  The  latter  process  is  the  only  one  consistent  with 
the  idea  of  Immutable  Law,  or  of  that  Infinite  Energy  that  is 
ever  pushing  upward  through  matter  towards  perfection.  It  is 
alike  creditable  to  man  and  his  Creator  that  he  should  ascend 
the  scale  of  being — alike  discreditable  to  both  that  he  should 
make  a  pitiable  failure  of  himself,  after  once  having  been  sent 
forth  perfect  from  the  hand  of  Infinite  Perfection.  As  com- 
pared with  his  barbaric  ancestors  man  has  everything  to  en- 


206  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

•courage  him  ;  but  as  compared  with  the  Mosaic  fable  of  crea- 
tion, the  outlook  for  him  is  far  from  hopeful.  We  prefer  the 
more  rational  theory,  and  hold  that  man  is  the  central  point 
of  two  eternities — of  the  past,  up  which  he  has  climbed  from 
an  impulse  of  Divinity  ;  and  of  the  future,  toward  which  he  is 
steadily  moving  forward  in  the  highway  of  eternal  progression. 

ADJUSTMENT    TO    NATURE. 


Throughout  the  universe  harmony  is  the  rule,  inharmony 
the  exception.  The  cyclone  that  sweeps  the  earth,  leaving 
death  and  desolation  in  its  path ;  the  earthquake  that  rocks 
the  foundations  of  the  mountains,  burying  cities  in  its  awful 
throes;  the  "pestilence  that  walketh  by  noonday;"  war,  famine, 
and  even  death  itself,  are  all  efforts  of  the  intelligent  forces  of 
the  universe  to  bring  about  that  harmony  which  Nature  will 
have  at  any  cost.  Man,  in  discord  with  the  higher  purposes 
of  his  being — out  of  tune  with  the  divine  life, — is  a  moral 
cyclone,  a  devastating  pestilence.  He  is  war  and  famine — 
the  Satan  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  once  adjusted  to  the 
grand  diapason  of  Nature,  he  gives  forth  melody  divine  in 
every  thought  and  action. 

How  often  do  we  find  those  living  in  the  slums  seeking  to 
drag  their  fellows  down  to  their  level.  Such  people  are  in 
much  greater  need  of  pity  than  those  whom  they  would  tra- 
duce. Whoever  lives  a  clean  and  correct  life  need  have  no 
fear  of  false  tongues.  He  is  clad  in  the  armor  of  truth,  against 
which  the  shafts  of  malice  and  ignorance  fall  in  vain. 


* 
* 


The  invisible  ether  around  about  us  is  threaded  with  spiritual 
currents,  connecting  our  own  spirits  with  the  outlying  wrorld  of 
spirit  forces  in  the  universe — with  all  that  is  good,  if  we  will, 
or  all  that  is  ill — currents  that  bring  us  into  harmony  with  the 
life  of  all  divinity,  or  into  fierce  discord  with  the  shapes  and 
shadows  of  moral  death.  If  we  would  be  well  in  body  and 


THE    CHURCH    OF    ROME.  2OJ 

mind,  if  we  would  dwell  in  harmony  with  our  own  souls,  we 
must  find  these  higher  and  purer  currents  and  float  upon  their 
crystal  surface  into  the  beautiful  harbor  of  rest  to  which  they 
lead. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  HOME. 

The  only  Church  now  in  existence  that  clings  blindly  to 
the  past,  with  no  attempt  or  intention  to  allow  its  communicants 
to  think  independently  upon   religious  things,   is  the  Roman 
Catholic,  and  the   creed  of  that  Church  is  simply  crystallized 
igrorance  enthroned  in  the  Pope.     If  you  are  a  good  Catholic 
you  must  accept  the  interpretations  of  the  Church  in  all  relig- 
ious matters  from  alpha  to  omega  ;  no  matter  how  inconsistent 
with  facts    or   abhorrent   to    enlightened  reason,   you  are  not 
allowed  to  entertain  a  questioning  opinion.      It  is  only  by  this 
ex  cathedra  enforcement  of  its  dogmas  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
is  able  to  subject  to  its  domination  the  ignorant  masses  with 
which  its  membership  is  mainly  composed.     Such  domination 
is  no  doubt  better  for  many  persons  than  no  sense  of  moral  or 
religious  accountability  at  all.    In  fact,  it  would  hardly  be  wise, 
in  any  enlightened  community,  for  the  priest  to  release  the  strong 
grip  he  holds  upon  the  consciences  of  a  multitude  of  men  and 
women.     Hence,    as    much    as   we  disclaim  all  censorship  or 
domination  of  religious  opinion  in  ourselves,  we  are  entirely 
willing  to  see  such  domination  forced   upon  others — upon  all 
who  need  such  restraints   and  checks   upon  their  undeveloped 
spiritual  natures.     Until  one  can  walk  alone  without  trenching 
upon  the  rights  of  others,  he  must  be  held  by  the  restraints  of 
the  law,  or  the  shackles  of  the  Church.     Therefore,  before  we 
would  pull  down  the  Church,  we  should  build  up  the  man. 

In  the  higher  life  of  the  soul  there  are  delights  that  are 
never  dreamed  of  by  the  mortal  mind — a  realm  where  the  in- 
flowing tide  of  inspiration  lifts  one  above  the  plane  of  sensuous 


208  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

things,  and  the  spirit  bathes  in  the  scintillant  glory  of  the 
Divine  Life.  Would  you  live  in  this  realm,  enjoy  these  super- 
nal joys,  live  your  best  in  thought  and  action,  and  it  will  surely 

come  to  you. 

•* 
*  * 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  all  believers  in  psychic  phenom- 
ena can  be  trained  to  think  alike  in  aught  except  the  bare  fact 
of  spirit  existence  and  return.  The  mind  is  naturally  prolific 
in  theories  and  speculations,  and  will  indulge  therein  say  what 
we  may.  The  trouble  with  many  Spiritualists  is  that  they  are 
so  wrapped  up  in  their  own  vagaries  that  they  have  no  tolera- 
tion for  the  vagaries  of  others. 


*** 


To  accomplish  the  best  work  in  any  line  of  art  or  genius 
— in  painting,  sculpture,  invention,  poetry  or  music — the  gifted 
one  must  lift  his  soul  far  above  the  jingle  of  gold,  and  hold 
himself  close  to  the  heart  of  his  divine  inspiration.  The 
remuneration  will  surely  come  with  his  success — as  a  natural 
sequence  thereof,  but  not  as  the  inspiring  cause.  Would  that 
we  could  impress  this  thought  upon  the  minds  of  all  gifted 
instruments  for  the  manifestation  of  spirit  power. 


* 

•*• 


We  can  live  like  unhatched  chickens,  in  the  shell,  as 
many  do,  or  we  can  come  forth  into  that  larger  life  of  the 
spirit  which  is  our  birthright.  The  former  condition  is  the 
childhood  of  the  spirit,  the  realm  of  small  thoughts  and  small 
things.  Ought  we  not  to  rise  out  of  this  realm,  and  learn  to 
think  grandly,  and  to  live  grandly — not  in  a  material  sense, 
but  in  the  grandeur  of  a  noble  life  and  high  aspirations? 
There  be  many  kings  and  priests  of  the  Most  High  who  never 
lived  in  earthly  palaces. 


* 
*  * 


There  is  no  buying  nor  selling  in  the  land  "  beyond  the 
river."  The  mind  schooled  in  the  ways  and  tricks  of  trade 
and  but  little  else,  in  this  life,  will  there  have  to  begin  with 


BEFORE    THEIR    TIME.  209 

the  spiritual  alphabet,  and  take  its  place  in  the  infant  class. 
What  advantage  can  it  be  to  the  spirit  to  be  skilled  in  the 
things  of  earth  for  which  it  will  have  no  use  in  spirit  life  ? 
It  will  have  use  for  all  its  love,  all  its  generosity,  all  its  purity, 
all  its  nobility  of  character,  all  its  unselfishness — but  all  that 
is  of  the  earth  earthy  it  will  leave  behind. 

'BEFORE  THEIR  TIME. 


How  many  people  die  before  their  time — that  is,  at  or 
before  middle  age — passing  on  to  the  other  life  without  the  full 
measure  of  earth  experience  necessary  for  their  work  and 
development  on  the  spiritual  plane  of  life.  Most  men  live  too 
fast — business  men  especially.  Excitement,  worry,  late  hours, 
sleepless  nights,  alcoholic  stimulation,  etc.,  all  more  or  less 
incident  to  that  greed  for  gain  which  seems  to  be  a  part  of  our 
competitive  system,  soon  consume  the  taper  of  life,  and  they 
pass  on  to  the  other  stage  of  existence  before  they  have  lived 
out  one-half  their  years.  And  what  do  they  gain?  What  does 
any  one  gain  who  devotes  every  energy  of  his  life  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  that  which,  when  attained,  he  is  obliged  to  leave  to 
others,  perhaps  to  gratify  the  follies  and  vanities  of  thankless 
heirs? 


WEALTHY    BACHELORS. 


Oh,  the  abominable  selfishness  of  a  wealthy  bachelor's 
life!  The  man  who  could,  if  he  would,  make  some  good 
woman  happy  and  establish  a  beautiful  home,  with  children  to 
gladden  their  lives.  But  this  would  cost  money — money  to 
be  expended  upon  some  one  else  than  himself ;  and  so  he 
drifts  about  like  the  butterfly,  from  flower  to  flower,  enjoying 
the  pleasant  and  refining  society  of  good  women  often,  with- 
out any  expense  to  himself  for  their  board  and  clothing  !  Such 
men  stand  wofully  in  their  own  light.  They  are  building  their 
house  upon  the  sand,  with  no  foundation  of  love  to  support  it 


210  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

when  the  storms  of  sickness  and  adversity  come.  The  years 
glide  away  all  too  soon  for  their  earthly  pride  ;  old  age  creeps 
upon  them,  and  ere  long  the  shadow  and  gloom  of  the  grave 
fall  across  their  paths.  Death  at  last  claims  them  for  his  own, 
and  they  glide  out  upon  the  silent  river  from  the  care  of  some 
hired  nurse  who  wonders  where  he  shall  find  another  job.  How 
different  the  departure  of  one  from  some  happy  home  from 
the  fond  arms  of  a  gentle  wife  to  close  his  eyelids  in  death 
with  her  soft,  caressing  hands. 


MAN'S  REAL  WORTH. 


Some  one  has  said  that  a  man's  real  worth  in  the  world 
is  simply  that  of  the  business  he  follows.  Gauged  by  this 
standard,  which  we  are  inclined  to  think  is  a  just  one,  what  is 
the  rum-seller  worth,  or  the  gambler,  or  the  stockbroker,  or  the 
usurer,  or  the  professional  base-ball  player  ?  What  is  the 
worth  of  the  fashionable  woman,  who  spends  her  time  and 
substance  in  fashion's  follies,  and  in  a  selfish  gratification  of 
her  love  for  finery  and  display?  What  is  the  young  man 
worth  who  is  squandering  the  fortune  left  him  by  an  indul- 
gent father  in  idleness  and  dissipation  ?  These  are  the  ques- 
tions which  Conscience,  the  great  Judge,  will  ask  of  every 
soul,  as  it  knocks  for  admittance  at  the  gate  of  the  City  Celes- 
tial :  What  use  did  you  make  of  yourself  on  earth  ?  How 
have  you  profited  by  your  opportunities?  It  might  be  well, 
dear  reader,  for  you  to  ask  these  questions  of  yourself  now, 
and  if  you  cannot  answer  them  satisfactorily,  perhaps  you  may 
be  able  to  further  on. 

-oj— 

These  temples  of  the  spirit,  through  which  the  soul  finds 
expression,  how  important  it  is  that  they  be  wisely  cared  for. 
To  abuse  the  body  with  strong  drink,  or  tobacco,  or  the 
gratification  of  any  base  appetite,  or  by  riotous  living,  all  tends 
to  deprive  the  instrument  of  its  fineness  of  tone,  and  obscure 


THIS  OLD  EARTH  OF  OURS.  211 

the  light  of  the  soul  shining  through  it.  To  abuse  the  body  is 
to  trample  upon  the  soul,  and  hasten  the  time  of  its  release,  all 
unprepared.  Good  hours,  cleanliness,  careful  diet,  temperance 
in  all  things — these  are  all  essential  to  a  well-ordered  life,  and 
the  highest  possible  degree  of  spiritual  unfoldment. 


THIS  OI,I>  EARTH  OF  OURS. 

A  kind  mother,  a  lavish  and  bounteous  friend,  is  this  old, 
old  earth  of  ours.  She  spreads  out  her  banquet  of  rare  viands 
and  luscious  fruits,  she  unlocks  her  treasures  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  precious  stones,  and  invites  man  to  draw  near  and  help 
himself.  She  wafts  his  ships  across  mighty  wastes  of  sea,  with 
the  magic  of  her  breath,  pointing  the  way  they  should  go  with 
a  spirit  wand  ;  she  lends  him  the  couriers  of  the  skies  for  his 
messengers ;  she  gives  him,  in  brief,  unstintedly  of  herself — of 
the  melody  of  her  birds  and  brooks,  of  the  beauty  and  fra- 
grance of  her  flowers,  of  the  grandeur  of  her  starry  nights, 
— and  when  at  last,  like  a  child  wearied  with  its  play,  he  would 
seek  for  rest,  she  takes  him  in  her  loving  arms  and  coddles 
him  to  sleep  upon  her  bosom. 

HOME  WHERE  LOVE  IS  NOT. 

A  home  where  love  is  not — where  in  the  wide  world  can- 
one  find  a  more  dreary  place?  Hearts  that  ache  for  sympathy 
and  find  it  not — that  ask  for  bread  and  receive  a  stone, — God 
pity  them  !  Better  that  they  go  their  separate  ways,  and  never 
more  rest  under  the  same  roof.  And  yet,  in  married  life,  how 
many  unloved  wives,  and  indifferent  and  unfaithful  husbands,, 
may  be  found  ;  and  children  grow  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  such 
homes,  all  unbalanced  and  out  of  harmony  with  their  own 
higher  natures,  to  add  to  the  world's  woe  !  It  is  indeed  pitiful. 
But  what  can  be  expected  when  marriage  is  made  a  thing  of 
passional  impulse,  as  it  too  often  is,  and  not  of  those  higher 
spiritual  and  intellectual  attractions,  which  alone  are  lasting  and 


212  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

permanent.  Love,  founded  in  the  higher  nature,  and  on 
mutual  attraction  of  spirit,  will  survive  the  disintegrating 
processes  of  time,  and  grow  brighter  and  sweeter  with  the 
years.  Only  those  between  whom  such  love  exists  has  God 
truly  joined  together 

Can  you  realize,  dear  reader,  how  swift  is  the  flight  of 
time — we  mean  you  who  have  crossed  the  meridian  line,  and 
have  seen  what  the  world  is  disposed  to  call  your  "  best  days  ?" 
Your  best  days  should  be  your  last  days — your  days  of  fruition 
— your  days  of  ripe  experience,  of  treasured  memories.  The 
^arth  is  fading  away.  You  are  nearing  the  silent  river,  beyond 
which  bloom  the  evergreen  shores  of  immortal  life.  You 
must  soon  bid  good-bye  to  earth — soon  must  part  with  all 
•earthly  possessions.  Are  you  ready  for  the  summons  ? 

The  seance  for  spiritual  communion  should  be  sacred  to  the 
purest  thoughts  and  the  highest  aspirations  of  the  soul.  Every 
member  of  the  circle  should  draw  near  as  to  an  altar  dedicated 
to  the  living  God.  Not  that  one  should  enter  into  this  holy  of 
holies  with  a  long  visage,  or  a  heart  draped  in  black  ;  but  one 
should  draw  near  in  the  sweet  passivity  of  a  cheerful  spirit, 
bright  with  the  sunshine  of  hope  and  joy.  It  is  thus  that  the 
good  angels  can  draw  nearest  to  our  hearts,  and  both  mortal 

and  spirit  receive  a  baptism  of  the  divine  life. 

•*• 
*  * 

It  is  never  a  disgrace,  however  humiliating  it  may  be,  to  be 
•deceived.  The  more  honest  one  is  himself,  the  more  honesty 
he  is  apt  to  see  in  his  fellows.  Hence,  those  good,  honest 
Spiritualists  who  have  witnessed  the  cruel  deceptions  practiced 
in  public  materializing  circles,  mixed  up,  it  may  be,  with  here 
and  there  a  few  grains  of  truth,  are  not  to  be  blamed.  They 
can  hardly  be  made  to  realize  that  rrren  and  women,  whom 
they  have  long  known  and  esteemed,  could  so  dishonor  them 


SELF    RESPECT.  213 

selves  as  to  trifle  with  such  sacred  things.  The  psychic  form 
is  all  the  more  beautiful  when  produced  in  the  atmosphere  and 
harmony  of  the  home  circle.  There  let  it  remain  for  the 
present. 

SELF  RESPECT. 


It  is  a  rule  that  he  who  would  be  respected  must  first  re- 
spect himself.  The  same  is  true  in  a  larger  or  community  sense. 
There  are  thousands  of  excellent  people  in  the  world,  in  and 
out  of  the  churches,  who  believe  in  the  fundamental  truths  of 
Spiritualism.  They  are  mediums  for  the  spirits  themselves,  or 
have  mediumship  in  their  families.  They  know  that  their 
loved  ones  who  have  passed  on  are  not  dead,  but  that  they 
live  and  love  them  still,  and  that  they  can  and  do  come  to 
them  when  conditions  are  favorable.  But  they  would  not  for 
the  world  be  regarded  as  Spiritualists,  nor  have  it  known  that 
•they  are  subject  to  spirit  influences.  We  can  not  blame  them, 
when  we  consider  how  very  little  many  Spiritualists  respect 
their  own  cause.  With  the  solution  of  the  grandest  problem 
of  the  universe  in  their  hands — a  truth  that  eclipses  conception 
with  its  mighty  results — they  stand  around  and  do  little  or 
nothing  to  command  the  respect  of  the  world.  Shall  we  blame 
the  world  when  it  reviles? 


Who  would  not  rather  pass  on  to  the  other  life  in  a  flush 
of  glory,  by  making  his  last  act  some  crowning  impulse  of 
grandeur  and  divine  self-abnegation,  than  die  with  coffers  dis- 
tended with  unused  wealth,  to  corrupt  ungrateful  heirs,  and  fill 

the  heart  of  the  owner  with  sadness  in  the  Infinite  Beyond. 

* 

:«:     * 

What  spirit,  manifesting  through  mortal  mediumship,  ever 
taught  other  doctrine  than  that  embodied  in  the  Golden 
Rule?  There  are  those,  it  is  true,  who  sometimes  come  to  us, 
^bringing  back  a  bad  earthly  condition — spirits  who  have  not  yet 


214  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

learned  the  better  way — but  by  kindness  and  good  advice  they 
are  generally  found  to  be  yielding  and  submissive  to  the  divine 
law  of  unfoldment,  and  are  soon  made  to  recognize  their  rela- 
tionship to  the  Infinite  Spirit.  All  spirits  who  are  allowed  to 
come  to  us  as  teachers,  invaribly  hold  up  to  us  the  highest 
standards  of  morality.  They  teach  purity  of  life  and  conduct, 
and  endeavor  in  all  possible  ways  to  lead  us  upward  into  the 
light  of  all  goodness  and  truth. 


WHAT  CHANGES  HAVE  COME. 

What  a  change  has  come  over  the  world  since,  for  the- 
amusement  of  his  debased  subjects,  Nero  fed  his  hungry  lions 
on  the  humble  followers  of  Jesus.  The  taste  that  could  find 
satisfaction  in  such  a  cruel  spectacle  was  akin  to  that  of  the 
ravenous  beasts  that  fought  and  struggled  in  the  awful  carnage. 
The  world,  to-day,  possesses  no  type  of  humanity  so  low  as  to> 
tolerate  such  cruelties,  which  clearly  shows  the  upward  trend 
of  the  human  race.  It  is  only  by  contrasting  great  lapses  of 
time  that  this  fact  is  made  prominent.  Thus  are  we  made  to 
recognize  the  great  truth  of  man's  development  from  lower 
types  of  human  life,  and  by  which  we  may  logically  infer  his- 
ascent  from  the  primordial  cell,  through  vast  gradations  of 
animal  life  to  his  present  high  estate.  In  all  this  chain  of  un- 
foldment we  can  discover  no  "  missing  link  " — no  break  in. 
God's  eternal  purpose  in  human  progress.  Surely,  but  slowly,, 
the  world  is  growing  better. 


One  can  not  judge  of  the  tree  by  the  fungus  growth  upon; 
its  bark,  nor  of  the  sea  by  the  debris  cast  upon  the  shore; 
neither  can  one  judge  of  Spiritualism  by  the  excrescences  that 
sometimes  appear  upon  its  surface.  There  are  depths  on. 
depths  of  grandeur,  purity,  and  beauty  in  Spiritualism  that  the- 
world  knows  not  of,  and  which  can  never  be  inferred  from  the 
lives  and  conduct  of  some  who  claim  to  be  its  champions.  It 


FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE.  215 

is  a  plant  that  thrives  best  in  the  soil  of  a  harmonious  home. 
There  to  many  lives  it  is  a  most  precious  thing,  full  of  all 
beauty  and  freshness,  and  ever  exhaling  sweetest  fragrance. 


FAITH  ANI>  KNOWLEDGE. 

In  the  Church  we  are  asked  and  required  to  believe  by 
faith,  and  without  proof,  in  what  Spiritualists  claim  they  are 
able  to  prove,  viz.,  the  continued  existence,  upon  another  plane 
of  life,  of  the  spirit  of  man  as  an  individualized,  conscious 
entity.  Now  faith  and  knowledge  are  naturally  antagonistic  to 
each  other.  In  fact,  they  can  not  long  run  in  parallel  lines 
without  converging  towards  a  point  of  common  unity.  Faith 
is  a  phantom  of  ignorance  that  disappears  in  knowledge.  No 
one  will  be  contented  with  a  belief  in  a  future  life  by  faith,, 
when  he  once  learns  that  a  positive  knowledge  of  the  fact 
is  within  his  reach.  And  so  a  multitude  of  good,  religious 
people  in  the  churches  are  corning  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
through  the  unfoldments  and  manifestations  of  the  spirit  in 
their  own  homes  and  lives,  as  well  as  through  the  "gifts  of 
the  spirit "  in  other  ways. 

The  man  who  sees  only  the  good  there  is  in  his  fellow 
beings,  making  no  note  of  their  weaknesses  or  failings,  may  be 
deceived  and  wronged  many  times  and  in  many  ways — he  may 
die  in  poverty,  unhonored  and  unknown, — yet  we  would  like 
to  be  in  his  place  when  he  wakes  in  the  morning  of  his 
ressurection  to  life  eternal  it  the  spirit  world. 

•&   *• 

Be  of  good  cheer,  fellow  traveler  on  life's  journey  !  Know 
ye  not  that  it  is  only  when  your  own  spirit  is  full  of  sunshine 
that  your  angel  friends  can  draw  nearest  to  aid  you  and  lead 
you  out  of  trouble  ?  It  not  only  does  no  good  to  worry  and 
fret  over  disappointments  and  troubles  that  one  can  not  avoid, 
but  it  does  positive  harm,  in  that  it  shuts  one  out  from  the 


2l6  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

possibility  of  that  help  that  might  come  to  one  through  the 
spirit.  It  may  require  much  discipline  of  the  mind  to  overcome 
the  tendency  to  worry  over  what  goes  wrong.  But  how  to 
obtain  tHat  discipline  and  mastery  over  one's  self  generally, 
should  be  the  study  of  every  soul. 

#  * 

The  French  language  has  no  word  that  corresponds  with 
the  dear  old  Saxon  word,  home ;  and  France  is  a  country 
where  home,  in  its  sweet  American  significance,  is  unknown. 
He  misses  one  of  the  dearest  charms  of  life,  who  lives,  though 
it  be  never  so  grandly,  without  a  home.  How  pure  the  joys 
and  rare  the  delights,  that  cluster  around  the  home.  It  is  not 
home  where  one  sleeps,  or  eats  his  meals,  unless  one's  heart  is 
in  the  place ;  and  what  heart  ever  went  into  a  restaurant  or 
lodging  house  !  The  virtuous  home  is  the  foundation  of  the 
Republic,  the  bulwark  of  orderly  society,  the  stepping  stone  to 
heaven. 


* 
* 


All  who  believe  in  the  Bible,  believe  that  Moses  and  Eiias 
materialized  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration;  they  believe 
also  ,that  on  many  occasions  spirits  appeared  to  mortals,  and 
that  even  Christ  himself  came  to  his  disciples  and  was  recognized 
by  them.  Now,  if  communion  with  spirits  is  wrong,  why  did 
not  Jesus  warn  his  disciples  against  it  ?  And  why  did  he  do 
that  which,  if  wrong,  he  would  have  condemned  in  others? 

Will  not  some  of  our  Christian  ministers  answer  this  question? 

* 

•&  -K- 
The  plowshare  that  remains  inactive  in  the  soil  becomes 

corroded  with  rust.  So  it  is  with  the  spirit  that  rests  inactive 
in  the  soil  of  the  world's  needs.  We  can  grow  and  keep  the 
spirit  bright  only  by  constant  use  of  our  faculties.  It  is  not 
well  to  become  corroded  in  our  sympathies  or  charities,  for 
thus  we  die  before  our  time.  There  are  too  many  dead  people 
in  the  world — dead  in  all  save  the  mere  breath  of  life — waiting 
to  be  buried. 


THE    SWEET    BY    AND    BY. 
THE    SWEET    BY    AND     BY. 


"  The  sweet  By  and  by !"  How  many  a  time  and  oft 
have  the  words,  "There's  a  land  that  is  fairer  than  day,"  been 
sung  to  the  air  of  "  Sweet  By-and-by,"  by  those  who  would 
draw  near  the  invisible  world,  while  their  loved  ones  on  the  other 
side  moved  aside  the  vail  to  greet  their  idols  still  on  the  shores  of 
mortal  life.  There  is  a  world  of  comfort  in  that  familiar  song, 
when  sung  by  the  true  Spiritualist.  He  knows  something  of 
that  land  so  fair,  knows  that  it  is  a  reflex  of  the  beautiful 
places  of  earth.  He  knows  if  he  makes  the  best  use  of  him- 
self here,  that  when  the  trials  and  struggles  of  this  life  are 
over,  he  will  pass  on  to  his  "dwelling  place  there,"  a  home  amid 
beautiful  surroundings,  and  a  landscape  as  real  and  tangible  to 
the  spirit  senses  as  this  earth  is  to  these  tenements  of  clay. 
Hence,  the  Spiritualist  can  sing  that  song  as  no  one  else  can, 
for  the  words  mean  something  to  him.  Herein  he  finds  a 
comfort  and  a  strength  that  the  world  knows  not  of. 


Listen,  ye  heavy  hearted  and  sorrowing,  ye  weary  and 
o'erburdened  souls  !  Know  ye  not  there  is  a  needed  discipline 
in  your  trials  ;  and  the  time  will  come  when  you  would  not  for 
worlds  part  with  a  single  pang  your  hearts  have  ever  known,  or 
a  tear  your  eyes  have  shed.  It  is  only  through  fierce  heat  that 
the  dross  is  burnt  away,  and  the  pure  gold  left  in  the  crucible. 
You  are  the  gold  in  God's  crucible.  Let  him  temper  you  as 
He  will. 

*  * 

You  cannot  detract  from  the  value  of  gold  by  discovering 
and  disclosing  the  spurious  coin.  The  gold  remains  un- 
changeable forever.  It  survives  the  furnace  heat,  and  re_ 
tains  the  quality  of  its  undimmed  lustre  through  all  mutations 
of  the  chemist's  art.  It  is  only  the  false  that  fails  and  disap- 
pears in  the  crucible.  The  truth  lives  forever,  and  grows 
brighter  with  the  ages. 


2l8  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  frailties  of  poor  human  nature  ought  not  to  be  paraded 
before  the  world,  to  poison  the  moral  atmosphere,  and  deaden 
the  sensibilities  of  the  good  and  pure.  If  one  finds  a  dead 
dog  upon  his  premises,  were  it  not  better  and  wiser  to  bury  it 
than  to  drag  it  through  the  streets?  Spiritualists  expose  their 
sores;  other  religionists  cover  theirs  from  public  gaze.  In  that 
we  think  that  they  are  wiser  than  we. 


THE    VOICE    OF    NATUKE. 


The  voice  of  many-tongued  Nature,  ever  pleading  with 
man,  is  an  invitation  to  "  come  up  higher."  She  presents  him 
everywhere  in  the  material  world,  lessons  of  infinite  beauty, 
harmony  and  perfection.  She  gives  to  him  a  wonderfully  del- 
icate and  intricate  machine,  through  which  he  may  express 
himself  on  this  external  plane  of  being,  and  she  warns  him  by 
terrible  penalties  not  to  misuse  it.  She  paints  the  lily  for  him 
as  a  symbol  of  purity  for  him  to  imitate  in  the  whiteness  of 
his  own  life.  She  unfolds  to  him  the  wonder  and  glory  of 
the  universe  to  lead  his  thoughts  upward  and  outward  from 
the  littleness  of  himself  to  the  greatness  and  majesty  of  that 
infinite  power  and  unity  that  we  call  God.  She  would  ever 
lead  him  by  the  hand,  as  a  parent  would  lead  a  loved  child, 
into  the  ways  of  wisdom,  goodness,  and  truth.  Who  would 
go  through  life  heedless  of  her  higher  teachings,  "builds  his 
house  upon  the  sand." 

Storms,  in  the  physical  world,  clear  and  purify  the  atmos- 
phere. What  though  the  fierce  lightnings  lash  the  heavens  at 
times,  and  the  mad  cyclone  toys  with  the  habitations  of  men. 
There  is,  no  doubt,  a  purpose  in  it  all ;  although  not  always 
apparent  to  the  finite  understanding.  So  it  is  doubtless  with 
spiritual  things.  Great  excitements  and  commotions  are  neces- 
sary to  obliterate  evil  and  fit  the  spirit  for  clearer  perceptions 
of  truth.  The  soul  that  lies  at  anchor  within  the  land-locked 
harbor  of  truth,  fears  not  the  storm  without. 


POWER    OF    WEALTH.  219 

POWER  OF  WEAXTH. 


The  power  of  wealth  is  most  strikingly  illustrated  in  the 
-case  of  that  New  York  lady,  who  is  said  to  be  the  "richest 
woman  in  America,"  of  whom  the  papers  make  occasional 
mention.  With  thirty  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  securities 
in  her  possession,  the  accumulations  of  which  are  constantly 
and  rapidly  increasing,  she  nevertheless  lives  so  meanly  as  to 
almost  deny  herself  the  common  necessities  of  life.  She  has 
no  thought  of  the  great  world  around  her,  except  that  of  how 
it  may  be  utilized  to  increase  her  stores.  She  never  performs 
a  generous  act  —  never  gives  heed  to  the  plaint  of  suffering 
humanity.  With  a  mighty  power  in  her  hands  for  good,  she  is 
going  down  to  the  grave,  and  her  spirit  out  into  the  other  life, 
with  the  good  she  could  do  all  undone.  Could  there  be  a 
beggar  in  the  world  poorer  than  this  poor  woman  ?  What  read- 
er of  the  GOLDEN  GATE  would  exchange  his  condition  for  her 
wealth  and  her  spirit  ? 


There  is  no  monoply,  or  close  corporation,  of  spiritual 
gifts.  There  is  scarcely  a  man,  woman,  or  child,  to  whom 
some  phase  of  spiritual  manifestation  is  not  possible.  In  fact, 
the  very  best  mediums  are  .often  found  in  private  life,  who 
would  no  more  think  of  making  a  commerce  of  their  gifts  than 
they  would  of  selling  the  sunshine  of  an  encouraging  word  to 
a  sorrowing  soul.  And  yet  we  know  that  whoever  must  live  by 
his  gifts  must  be  paid  therefor.  We  would  not  oppose  paid 
mediumship,  but  we  would  most  earnestly  encourage  the 
development  of  mediumship  in  the  home  circle. 


* 
*  * 


"  Destroy  my  belief  in  the  possibility  of  the  psychic 
form,"  says  one,  "and  I  have  no  further  use  for  Spiritualism.'' 
How  barren  and  empty  of  spirituality  the  nature  must  be  that 
finds  nothing  in  the  intellectual  evidences  of  another  life  to 
console  him — nothing  in  the  other  and  varied  sensuous  mani- 


220  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

festations  of  psychic  power  given  in  the  light,  and  under  con- 
ditions impossible  of  deception.  But  he  need  not  surrender 
his  belief  in  materialization,  for  it  is  a  stupendous  fact,  all  the 
same.  And  the  way  is  preparing  for  its  manifestation,  to  those- 
who  are  prepared  to  accept  it,  under  conditions  far  removed 
from  every  doubt.  Let  no  Spiritualist  become  discouraged. 
None  will  who  knows  the  truth. 

,..** 

Spiritualism  has  suffered  more  from  the  public  materiali- 
zation seance — from  the  antagonism  and  suspicion  of  deception 
it  has  aroused — than  from  all  other  causes  combined.  The 
manifestation  of  the  psychic  form,  as  at  present  produced,  is 
not  for  the  skeptic ;  and  until  such  time  as  the  element  of 
darkness  can  be  eliminated  from  the  materializing  seance, 
and  it  can  be  held  under  conditions  that  can  challenge  skepti- 
cism, it  should  be  confined  to  the  laboratory  of  the  spiritual 
scientist,  for  private  investigation  and  experiment.  There  are 
many  places  where  this  phenomenon  can  be  developed  and 
studied  to  advantage ;  but  it  is  not  in  the  promiscuous  public 
seance.  Spiritualists  should  refuse  to  patronize  such  seances, 

*** 

Man  should  never  lose  faith  in  himself,  or  his  fellow  man, 
nor  in  the  principle  of  eternal  Love  and  Justice  that  domin- 
ates the  universe.  No  matter  what  calamities  may  befall  himy 
or  what  wrongs  may  prevail  around  him,  he  must  still  hold 
fast  to  the  unchanging  fact,  that  the  trend  of  humanity  is  ever 
upward,  and  that  right  is  the  outcome  of  all  the  moral  forces 
working  through  the  human  race.  Error  is  but  the  friction  of 
the  machinery,  not  yet  wisely  adapted  part  to  part.  But  this 
will  disappear  as  man  evolves  a  higher  spirituality,  and  learns 
the  lessons  written  in  his  own  soul,  by  the  hand  of  Infinite 

Truth. 

* 
*  * 

What  matters  it  whether  man  is  the  result  of  one  embodi- 
ment or  one  hundred  ?  If  we  ever  return  to  this  planet  for 


AMENDING    THEIR    CREEDS.  221 


further  experiences  in  the  mortal,  it  will  no  doubt  be  for  our 
good.  However,  but  one  embodiment  at  a  time  is  •  all  that 
should  concern  us,  and  how  to  find  the  highest  and  best  ex- 
pression therein. 


AMENDING  THEIR  CREEDS. 

Would  you  pull  down  the  churches  ?  Not  at  all.  We  would 
amend  their  creeds,  and  make  them  vastly  more  potent  for 
good  than  now.  The  fatal  mistake  of  ecclesiasticism  is  its 
Procrustean  bedstead  of  creed,  established  in  the  comparative 
infancy  of  the  race,  and  which  is  made  irrevocable.  This 
creed  makes  no  provision  for  intellectual  growth,  none  for 
the  revelations  of  science  and  none  for  the  more  rational 
demands  of  man's  spiritual  nature.  The  human  race  can 
not  be  bound  to  the  past  forever.  It  has  long  since 
begun  to  exploiter  new  fields  of  thought.  It  has  made  discov- 
eries that  cannot  be  adjusted  to  the  religious  teachings  of  the 
church.  It  demands  a  new  statement  of  facts  and  principles. 
And  this  the  church  will  be  compelled  to  make,  or  its  Doc- 
tors of  Divinity  will,  ere  long,  find  themselves  preaching  to 
empty  pews.  Truth  will  not  suffer  by  stripping  it  of  its  husks, 
neither  will  true  religion  suffer  by  divesting  it  of  its  crudities 
and  adapting  it  to  man's  advancing  spiritual  nature. 


LIFT  UP  YOUR   HEADS. 


Lift  up  your  heads  and  rejoice,  O  ye  struggling  and  sor- 
rowing ones  of  earth  !  Though  the  night  has  been  long  and 
dark,  see  ye  not  the  roseate  tints  of  the  coming  day — the  day 
that  shall  dispel  all  shadows  and  shapes  of  woe,  and  usher  you 
into  a  condition  of  life  where  honest  merit  shall  have  its  fair 
share  of  all  things  necessary  for  the  soul's  happiness  ?  What 
if  misfortune  and  poverty  have  been  your  lot,  remember  they 
are  only  for  a  brief  season  ;  and  especially  should  you  encour- 
age the  thought  that  in  no  sense  is  your  true  self  made  richer 


222  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

•or  poorer  by  your  earthly  conditions,  and  that  the  only  wealth 
that  will  last  is  the  sterling  wealth  of  character,  which  the 
poor  may  have  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  frequently  in  greater 
abundance.  Then  let  the  world  wag  on ;  do  your  best ;  an 
.archangel  could  do  no  more. 


INGEKSOLL,. 


The  spiritual  life  of  the  world  is  in  no  danger  from  in- 
fidelity or  atheism.  There  would  be  just  as  much  Christ  in 
the  world — that  is,  the  Christ  spirit — if  there  were  a  hundred 
Ingersolls  where  there  is  now  but  one.  In  fact,  there  is  no 
broader  humanity  taught,  no  better  lessons  of  brotherly  love 
and  duty  than  those  taught  by  Ingersoll  himself.  Belief  is  in 
no  sense  essential  to  goodness.  Indeed,  the  history  of  the 
•Church  abundantly  shows  that  belief  has  been  the  basis  of 
wrongs  and  wickedness  untold.  There  is  no  goodness  that  is 
not  of  God,  and  goodness  is  the  common  property  of  mankind. 
There  are  but  few  hearts  in  which  the  Christ  spirit  reigns  more 
-supremely  than  in  the  heart  of  Robert  G.  Ingersoll.  The 
-church  will  yet  come  to  accept  the  grand  truth  that  he  is  the 
truest  disciple  of  Christ  who  best  loves  his  fellow  men. 

A  GOOD  WIFE. 

A  good  wife  !  What  a  wealth  of  joy  is  embodied  in  the 
thought.  To  feel  that  though  friends  forsake,  and  all  the 
world  turn  against  you,  she  will  stand  by  you  to  the  end,  ever 
ready  to  shield  and  comfort  you  with  a  love  that  is  stronger 
than  the  love  of  life — a  faith  that  will  outlive  death !  What 
rapture  of  infinite  love — what  pleasure  of  all  the  delights  of 
heaven,  can  excel  this  !  We  know  such  an  one  (there  are  no 
doubt  many  such),  whose  bright  intellect,  highly  unfolded 
spirit  and  wealth  of  all  that  good  men  most  prize  in  woman,  all 
combine  to  make  a  queen  among  her  sex ;  and  yet  so  free  from 
assumption  of  especial  merit  is  she, — from  all  ostentatious  dis- 


SIGNS    AND    WONDERS.  223 

play  of  her  royal  gifts  and  graces  — that  the  lowliest  of  God's 
children  can  ever  find  in  her  a  wise  counsellor  and  a  gentle 
friend.  Her  intuition,  in  the  work  in  which  she  and  her  com- 
panion are  mutually  engaged  is  always  unerring,  and  ever  she  is  pa- 
tiently and  trustingly  leading  the  way  to  higher  and  better  views 
of  life  and  duty.  We  say,  we  know  such  an  one, — and  she  is 
not  far  away  ! 

SIGNS  ANI>  WONDERS. 


When  the  Master  was  on  earth  He  said  that  certain  "signs 
and  wonders  "  should  follow  those  that  believe,  and  that  greater 
things  than  He  did  should  they  do.  He  evidently  meant  what 
He  said.  But  what  are  the  "signs  and  wonders"  that  attend 
those  who  pretend  to  "  believe,"  in  these  later  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity? Do  they  heal  the  sick  by  the  laying  on  of  hands? 
Are  they  superior  to  the  deadly  effects  of  poison?  Not  at  all. 
Then  how  can  they  be  His  disciples?  The  marvelous  phe- 
nomena attending  the  manifestation  of  the  spirit,  under  the 
name  of  modern  Spiritualism,  seem  to  be  a  literal  fulfillment 
of  the  great  Teacher's  predictions,  in  many  things.  Out  of  the 
mouths  of  babes  many  truths  are  spoken,  and  they  are  made 
to  speak  and  write  in  languages  whereof  they  have  no  knowl- 
edge. The  sick  are  healed  by  spirit  power,  and  many  strange 
signs  are  given  to  teach  man  the  true  way  of  life.  But  only 
the  wise  are  receptive  to  the  truth. 

There  is  an  assurance,  an  abiding  comfort  and  confidence 
in  a  knowledge  of  spirit  existence  and  communion  as  enjoyed 
by  all  true  Spiritualists,  that  no  faith  in  things  unseen  and  un- 
known can  possibly  give.  To  the  true  Spiritualist  the  dark 
problem  of  the  grave  has  been  solved.  For  him  the  future 
has  no  terror,  and  he  is  reconciled  to  bear  the  burdens  of  life 
patiently,  knowing  that  thereby  he  is  the  better  preparing  him- 
self for  his  home  in  spirit  life,  and  for  the  companionship  of 
loved  ones  gone  before. 


224  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

THJK  HIGHEST  GOOD. 


The  problem  of  life — how  best  to  attain  the  highest  good 
— is  one  that  concerns  us  all.  The  young  man  or  woman  just 
coming  on  the  stage  of  action,  with  bright  hopes  and  high 
aspirations,  is  brought  face  to  to  face  with  strange  and  abnormal 
conditions  of  life  and  labor;  with  systems  of  religious  thought, 
founded  on  ancient  superstitions,  that  are  at  utter  variance  with 
all  the  known  principles  and  laws  that  dominate  the  universe; 
with  inconsistencies  in  law  and  human  government ;  with  error 
and  ignorance  of  every  form.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  he  falters  and 
stumbles?  He  needs  a  new  creed,  founded  on  common  sense, 
and  consistent  with  his  own  constitution.  He  needs  to  feel 
that  he  is  One  with  the  All  Good,  and  that  his  first  and  highest 
duty  is  to  adjust  himself  to  the  universe  of  which  he  is  a  part, 
and  in  harmony  with  which  only  can  he  find  happiness. 
Thus  adjusted  and  harmonized,  he  becomes  a  mighty  power  for 
the  correction  of  the  errors-and  evils  which  confront  him  on  every 
hand. 


A  SETTLED  FACT. 


One  clearly  established  fact  of  the  manifestation  .of  an 
independent  spirit  intelligence,  settles  the  question,  with  any 
honest  mind,  of  continued  existence  of  the  spirit  of  man  be- 
yond the  change  called  death.  Every  careful  investigator  of 
our  phenomena  has  had  proof  upon  proof  of  spirit  existence, 
and  that  such  existences  are  the  spirits  of  human  beings  who 
once  lived  upon  the  earth.  To  millions  of  intelligent  people, 
including  many  of  the  brightest  minds  the  world  has  yet  pro- 
duced— scientists,  scholars,  statesmen — men  in  all  walks  of 
life — the  central  truths  of  spirit  existence,  and  the  power  of 
the  same  persons  we  have  known  on  earth  to  return,  under 
proper  conditions,  and  communicate  with  mortals,  is  quite  as 
much  of  a  settled  fact  as  is  that  of  their  own  existence.  And 
what  do  these  returning  spirits  all  teach  us  ?  That  life  is  pro- 


PROPER    EDUCATION.  225 

gressive  forever  ;  that  man  must  answer  for  his  own  sins ;  that 
there  is  no  endless  hell  and  no  vicarious  atonement  for  sin  ; 
that  each  one  must  work  out  his  own  salvation,  either  in  this 
life  or  in  the  next ;  that  there  is  time  enough  and  room  enough 
for  all ;  that  there  is  no  greater  Devil  than  ignorance,  and  no 
greater  hell  than  man's  undeveloped  conscience ;  that  goodness 
brings  its  natural  reward  of  happiness,  and  wickedness  its 
•natural  penalty  of  suffering  ;  and  that  the  whole  plan  of  salva- 
tion lies  in  the  simple  act  of  ceasing  to  do  evil  and  learning  to 
do  well. 

ritOPER    EDUCATION. 


Children  need  to  be  educated  in  spiritual  knowledge  and 
to  grow  into  an  understanding  of  our  phenomenal  facts.  To 
such  children  the  manifestations  of  spirit  intelligence  or  power 
have  no  terror  ;  but  they  learn  to  enjoy  them,  and  take  delight 
in  communing  with  their  spirit  friends.  A  little  four-year-old 
mediumistic  boy  on  being  put  to  bed  in  a  room  by  himself  was 
told  by  his  new  nurse  to  have  no  fear  as  she  would  leave  the 
door  open.  "  I  don't  want  the  door  left  open,"  he  said.  But 
she  left  it  open  all  the  same.  He  then  called  to  his  mother, 
who  knew  the  boy  better,  complaining,  "  Lizzie  has  left  my 
door  open  and  spoiled  my  dark  circle."  He  had  his  little 
drum  and  other  playthings  upon  his  bed,  and  it  was  his  custom 
after  retiring,  to  have  a  romp  with  his  little  spirit  playmates. 


"  The  days  that  are  no  more  ! :'  Days  worse  than  wasted 
in  the  worls's  unholy  strifes,  days  of  spiritual  darkness  and  de- 
cay, days  of  sadness  and  despair  !  Happy  the  spirit  that  has 
buried  their  memory  forevermore  and  come  forth  into  the 
light  and  life  of  the  new  day.  For  then  it  is  that  man  begins 
to  find  his  own  soul.  He  begins  to  learn  that  all  earthly  ex- 
perience that  does  not  add  to  his  stature  as  a  spiritual  being 
is  more  or  less  hurtful,  for  the  reason  that  it  will,  in  the  beyond, 
chain  him  to  earth  conditions  when  he  should  be  mounting  up- 


226  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

ward  into  the  higher  realms  of  being.  How  empty  and  profit- 
less will  seem  many  things  that  engrossed  our  thoughts  here, 
when  we  come  to  caste  aside  this  house  of  clay. 


* 


Scatter  the  seeds  of  truth  wherever  the  fallow  ground  of 
the  spirit  is  ready  to  receive  them,  but  nowhere  else.  There 
is  no  sort  of  use  in  thrusting  our  facts  or  philosophy  upon 
people  who  will  meet  you  with  ignorant  ridicule  and  abuse. 
They  are  "wedded  to  their  idols."  Time  and  circumstance 
are  necessary  to  prepare  their  hearts  for  the  good  news,  for  the 
glorious  gospel  of  intercommunion  of  the  two  worlds,  and  the 
beautiful  lessons  of  love  and  duty  that  come  to  us  from  the 
higher  planes  of  spirit  life.  Be  patient,  it  will  all  come  around 
right  in  due  time. 


* 
*  * 


The  "  Robert  Elsmeres,"  who,  breaking  away  from  the 
faith  and  teachings  of  their  church,  and  yet  failing  to  come 
under  the  bright  light  and  beautiful  philosophy  of  Spiritualism, 
are  to  be  pitied.  They  are  deserving  of  the  tender  sympathy 
of  men  and  angels.  It  is  as  one  who  leaves  the  beaten  way  for 
the  wilderness,  and  never  quite  passes  out  from  its  maze  and 
shadows,  into  the  "  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  "  beyond. 
There  is  no  faith  like  knowledge,  no  trust  like  absolute  posses- 
sion. Herein  only  is  "rest  for  the  weary." 

*** 

Any  system  of  labor  reform  that  does  not  strike  at  the 
liquor  traffic,  can  not  be  otherwise  than  a  beating  of  the  empty 
air  ;  and  yet  the  laboring  classes  themselves,  who  are  the  prin- 
cipal supporters  of  the  saloons,  are  the  last  to  join  in  a  crusade 
against  theirs  and  the  world's  common  foe. 

*  # 

Who  lives  for  others  lives  in  the  truest  sense  for  himself. 
Upon  the  crest  of  the  wave  of  generous  deeds  man  is  borne 
heavenward.  Who  exalteth  himself  shall  be  humbled ;  who 
exalteth  his  brother  himself  shall  be  exalted. 


ON     TRIAL.  227 

ON    TRIAL. 


Orthodoxy  in  all  its  essential  claims,  is  on  trial  before  the 
world.  For  centuries  there  were  none  to  dispute;  and  even 
down  to  the  last  half  century  there  were  but  few  minds  strong 
enough  or  brave  enough  to  question  its  demands.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Fall  of  Man,  the  infallibility  of  the  Bible,  the 
atonement,  an  eternity  of  happiness  for  those  who  believe,  and 
endless  punishment  for  those  that  do  not,  —  these  are  now  the 
central  points  of  attack  from  the  world's  enlightened  batteries- 
of  thought.  The  outcome  no  enlightened  mind  can  doubt  — 
rationalism  will  triumph  and  ecclesiasticism  be  compelled 
to  surrender  its  untenable  dogmas.  And  what  is  there 
that  good  men  should  fear  in  the  substitution  in  the  uni- 
verse of  a  God  of  Love  for  one  of  implacable  hate  ?  Is  it 
not  better  for  man  to  be  taught  that  he  cannot  shirk  the  con- 
sequences of  his  acts,  that  he  must  pay  the  last  farthing  of  his 
debt,  than  to  believe  that  "Jesus  paid  it  all?"  And  after  all, 
is  not  goodness,  nobility  of  soul,  and  uprightness  of  character 
the  things  to  be  sought  for?  What  has  belief  in  the  creeds  of 
the  churches  to  do  with  these  qualities  in  man? 


We  are  all  building  for  the  future.  Every  generous  act 
of  our  lives  is  a  stone  in  the  foundation  of  that  edifice  which 
shall  constitute  our  abiding  place  in  the  beyond — not  eternally^ 
of  course,  but  for  how  long  we  may  not  know.  The  character 
and  durability  of  the  edifice  will  depend  upon  the  kind  of 
material  we  put  into  it.  If  we  live  narrow,  selfish  lives, 
thoughtless  of  others'  welfare,  we  are  building  a  hut  upon  the 
sands,  and  not  a  palace  of  marble  walls.  Soon  it  will  crumble 
away  and  leave  the  spirit  shelterless.  The  pride  and  pomp  of 
this  life — wealth,  station  and  honor — are  nothing  but  rubbish,, 
all  to  be  rejected  by  the  Divine  Builder.  In  living  our  best 
for  the  future  we  have  but  to  make  the  highest  use  of  the 
present. 


228  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT. 


The  Bible  says  :  "  He  who  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man 
shall  his  blood  be  shed."  The  same  book  says  :  "Thou  shalt 
not  kill."  How  can  the  believers  in  the  infallibility  of  this 
book  reconcile  these  two  passages?  Hanging  for  murder  is  a 
a  most  brutal  business  at  best.  It  does  not  bring  back  to  life 
the  person  slain ;  it  does  not  prevent  the  recurrence  of  murder ; 
and  then  it  wastes  a  human  being,  which  is  not  good  morals, 
or  good  economy.  To  kill  to  preserve  life  is  more  a  matter  of 
policy  than  of  morality.  It  is  right,  in  a  certain  sense ;  but  it 
must  be  done  at  the  moment,  under  the  excitement  of  fear,  or 
an  impulse  of  justice.  The  cool,  deliberate  planning  to  take 
life  for  life,  is  quite  another  thing.  Isn't  it  quite  enough  that 
the  murderer  should  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  for  life?  And 
then  his  services  might  be  made  available  towards  undoing,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  great  wrong  committed,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  might  obtain  the  necessary  earth  experience  to  best 
fit  him  for  the  life  beyond.  One  wrong  was  never  yet  condoned 
by  the  commission  of  another. 


How  beautiful  is  the  morning  of  life,  with  its  bright  hopes, 
its  bounding  pulses,  its  glow  and  sparkle  of  joy  !  How  grand 
is  middle  life  with  its  conscious  power,  its  grandeur  of  intel- 
lect, its  mighty  play  of  forces  !  But  more  beautiful  and  grand- 
er still  is  serene  old  age  with  its  rich  argosies  of  matured 
thought,  its  ripe  experiences,  and  its  bright  anticipation  of  the 
life  to  come.  How  bright  and  happy  is  the  home-coming  to 
the  wanderer  in  strange  lands.  And  such  is  the  thought  of  the 
home-going  to  the  aged,  whose  soul  ties  are  anchored  on  the 

thither  shore. 

* 

Until  man  can  so  school  himself  in  spiritual  knowledge — 
or  attain  to  that  spiritual  unfoldment  wherein  he  can  think  no 
ill  of  any  mortal,  however  much  he  may  have  wronged  him,  is 


IN  WISDOM'S  WAYS.  '229 

"he  wholly  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  higher  life  of  the  soul. 
Not  that  we  should  love  our  enemies,  for  that  were  impossible  ; 
but  we  can  excuse,  and  symyathize  with,  and  pity  them.  We 
•can  do  them  good  for  ill.  We  can  show  them  the  better  way 
of  life  in  our  own  life  and  conduct.  We  can  exalt  them  by  up- 
lifting ourselves.  And  this  is  one  of  the  lessons  of  our  beauti- 
ful Spiritualism — to  bring  man  into  nearness  with  the  divine  in 
his  own  nature.  This  is  to  come  under  the  dominion  of  Good, 
nvhich  is  but  another  name  for  God. 

IN  WISDOM'S  WAYS. 


We  know  a  bright  young  girl,  tall  and  straight  as  an  arrow, 
just  entering  upon  the  Sober  realities  of  life.  Before  her  is 
unfolding  the  marvelous  realities  of  mature  womanhood,  and 
.the  great,  restless,  uncertain  world.  Brave  and  strong  of  pur- 
pose, with  footsteps  firm  and  eyes  peering  into  the  realm 
of  shadows  that  enshrouds  her  future,  she  moves  steadily  for- 
ward in  the  path  of  duty,  guided  by  the  pure  light  of  a  white, 
unsullied  soul.  What  promise  of  gentle  goodness  she  wears 
upon  her  forehead — what  prophecy  of  hallowed  womanhood 
beams  in  the  depths  of  her  lustrous  brown  eyes  !  Bend  low 
sweet  angels,  and  take  her  by  the  hand.  Lead  her  through 
green  pastures  and  by  still  waters.  Touch  her  nature  with  the 
divine  inspiration  of  goodness.  Fill  her  soul  with  kind  thoughts) 
and  with  gentle  promptings  to  charity,  and  make  her  life 
to  blossom  with  good  deeds.  What  a  life  of  grandeur  and 
•usefulness  lies  before  every  young  woman,  if  she  but  wills 
to  walk  in  wisdom's  ways  ! 


The  acquisition  of  wealth  may  be  to  one  person  a  means 
>of  spiritual  growth  and  unfoldment,  while  to  another  it  may 
forge  chains  of  steel  that  will  bind  the  spirit  for  ages.  It  all 
depends  upon  the  motive  for  its  acquisition,  and  the  uses  it  is 
put  to  when  acquired. 


230  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

REASON. 


"Reason,"  says  the  matererialist,  "is  my  only  guide."" 
And  so  he  sets  up  reason  as  his  God,  and  bows  down  before  it, 
with  all  the  devotion  his  nature  is  capable  of.  Now  what  is 
reason  ?  It  is  the  uncertain  and  oftentimes  misleading  pro- 
cess whereby  the  intellect  endeavors  to  arrive  at  truth.  The 
highly  unfolded  spirit  reaches  truth  by  a  shorter  route.  Let  us 
illustrate  :  The  writer  once  had  some  interesting  experiments 
with  a  Mr.  Hutchings,  the  man  kown  as  the  "lightning  calcu- 
lator." We  demonstrated  beyond  question,  that  he  could  write 
down  instantly  the  sum  total  of  long  columns  of  figures,  with- 
out the  reasoning  process  of  adding  the  figures  together.  His 
spirit  comprehended  the  result  at  once,  and  it  was  invariably 
correct.  Man's  reason  is  so  warped  by  diverting  influences,  he 
reasons  in  so  many  lines  and  from  such  a  variety  of  points, 
that  it  is  but  a  very  poor  guide  at  best.  Intuition,  when  highly 
unfolded,  as  it  may  be,  in  what  is  known  as  the  sixth  sense,  is 
a  far  more  reliable  guide. 

Is  there  anything  more  beautiful  on  earth  than  a  happy 
home,  a  home  pervaded  by  that  delightful  harmony,  wherein 
the  angels  love  to  meet  and  dwell  ?  Such  a  one  we  dropped 
into  a  few  evenings  ago,  together  with  a  score  or  more  of  con- 
genial souls,  to  commemorate  the  birthday  anniversary  of  the 
happy  head  of  the  household,  —  the  birthday  of  one  who  is 
-peacefully  gliding  down  the  stream  of  life,  as  it  widens  out  to- 
wards the  great  ocean.  Earth-life  to  him  has  been  a  success 
in  many  ways;  certain  it  is  that  its  evening  sky  is  radiant  with 
the  purple  and  golden  prophecy  of  a  glad  new  day,  that  shall 
dawn  for  him  and  his  dear  companion  sometime  in  the  sweet 
by-and-by. 

*'  * 

True  happinesss  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  the  intel- 
lect as  upon  the  affections.  In.  fact,  the  worse  misery  one  can 
experience  in  this  world  is  intellectual  misery  ;  that  is,  the  mis- 


NEW    YEAR.  231 

ery  that  comes  of  a  keen  understanding  of  those  things  that 
conduce  to  unhappiness.  Causes  that  would  prompt  some 
deeply  sensitive  persons  to  take  their  own  lives,  others,  less 
acute  to  the  agonies  of  unbridled  thought,  would  treat  as  trifles. 
While  it  is  always  well  to  be  sympathetic  with  those  in  affliction,, 
we  should  cultivate  the  faculty  of  deriving  happiness  even  from 
our  sympathies.  In  administering  to  the  sorrows  and  sufferings 
of  others,  the  spiritual  soul  can  find  a  sort  of  melancholy  joy. 


NEW  YKAJI. 


A  new  year  dawns  upon  the  world.  Brings  it  no  lesson 
to  humanity,  no  suggestion  of  spiritual  help  or  unfoldment  ? 
What  argosies  of  soul-treasure  has  the  year  just  closed  brought 
to  you,  dear  reader  ?  Have  you  profited  by  its  lessons,  become 
wiser  through  its  experiences  ?  Has  it  broadened  your  nature, 
made  you  more  liberal  and  kind,  and  exalted  your  views  of 
life?  Are  you  "nearer  the  Father's  house,"  in  its  higher 
spiritual  sense,  than  you  "  ever  were  before,"  or  than  you  were 
one  year  ago  ?  If  yea,  then  the  new  year  will  open  to  you 
radiant  with  hope  and  rich  with  spiritual  possibilities.  The 
new  year  should  mean  something  more  to  us  all  than  a  mere 
boundary  line  of  time.  It  should  remind  us  that  our  days  are 
rapidly  gliding  away,  and  that  what  we  do  in  this  earth  experi- 
ence must  be  done  quickly,  for  "  to-morrow  we  die,"  or  pass 
on  to  other  scenes  and  experiences  in  the  great  drama  of  ex- 
istence. 

How  many  hearts  there  are  in  the  world  aching  for  a 
gentle  word,  and  the  sympathy  of  a  loving  thought — husbands, 
wives,  children,  brothers,  sisters — living  in  the  chilly  atmos- 
phere of  indifference  to  each  other's  presence,  if  not  of  chronic 
dislike.  And  thus  this  world,  that  should  be  full  of  sunshine 
and  joy,  is  turned  into  a  dismal  abode,  where  all  unpleasant 
and  cruel  things  take  root,  and  grow,  and  shed  their  malarious 
influence  to  poison  the  sweet  springs  of  being. 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 
SHORTNESS  OF  MORTAL  SIGHT. 


How  short  is  mortal  sight !  How  narrow  the  range 
of  human  judgment !  No  doubt  it  will  be  made  apparent 
to  every  intelligent  being  sometime,  that  the  niche  he 
occupies  in  the  universe  is  just  the  one  for  which  he  is  best 
fitted,  and  for  which  he  was  especially  created.  This  brings  us 
to  a  recognition  of  the  truth,  that  in  a  certain  sense,  "  What- 
ever is,  is  right."  If  it  were  not  so,  then  wrong  is  an  elemental 
factor  in  creation,  which  cannot  wisely  be  conceded.  We 
come,  in  the  process  of  intellectual  unfoidment,  to  realize  that 
many  things  that  once  seemed  wrong  to  us  now  appear  to  be 
right.  It  was  seemingly  a  cruel  wrong,  the  betrayal  and  cruci- 
fixion of  Jesus,  but  where  would  Christianity  have  been  with- 
out such  betrayal  and  crucifixion?  If  there  were  no  sin  in  the 
world,  what  virtue  would  there  be  in  overcoming  evil  with  good, 
and  where  would  be  the  inducement  to  a  noble  life  ? 


HALLELUJAH    OF    GLADNESS. 


In  the  light  of  the  Spiritual  Philosophy,  life  should  be  made 
a  perpetual  hallelujah  of  gladness.  "Sickness  and  sorrow, 
pain  and  death,"  that  are  such  lugubrious  subjects  under  the 
teachings  of  the  old  philosophies  and  theologies,  are  no  longer 
regarded  as  such  by  those  who  have  "entered  the  path,"  but 
they  become  useful  spiritual  helps  and  educators — valuable 
acquistions  of  experiences  to  take  with  us  to  the  other  life. 
We  should  learn  to  extract  sunbeams  from  clouds,  and  joy 
even  from  sorrow.  We  imagine  someone  will  say,  "Can  one 
be  cheerful  with  the  toothache  ?"  He  surely  will,  if  he  realizes 
that  a  fretful  and  surly  acceptance  of  the  pain  really  aggravates 
it  as  it  surely  does.  We  may  not  all  be  mental  scientists  to  the 
extent  that  a  denial  of  the  pain  will  drive  it  away,  but  we  can 
all  understand  that  a  cheerful  acceptance  is  certainly  a  great 
alleviator  of  suffering  of  any  kind.  It  is  a  sort  of  flag  of  truce 
to  meet  the  enemy  half  way  with  a  view  to  compromise. 


CHURCH    HISTORY.  233 

CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Through  what  seas  of  blood,  what  Gethsemanes  of  mortal 
anguish,  man  has  passed  in  his  struggles  for  spiritual  and  in- 
tellectual freedom.  The  history  of  the  church  for  ages,  and 
down  almost  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  is  a  his- 
tory of  terrible  persecutions  for  opinion's  sake.  And  yet  was 
the  church  to  blame  ?  Was  it  not  rather  the  undeveloped 
spiritual  and  intellectual  conditions  of  the  race  ?  The  church 
is  an  effect  and  not  a  cause.  It  is  just  what  man  makes  it.  In 
the  dark  ages  it  was  the  expression  of  his  benighted  spiritual 
nature,  the  same  as  it  is  now  the  expression  of  a  higher  spirit- 
ual unfoldment.  We  might  as  well  quarrel  with  our  own 
childhood,  or  with  the  barbaric  conditions  of  our  ancestry,  as 
to  waste  our  breath  in  berating  the  church  for  its  past  cruel- 
ties, or  its  present  shortcomings.  What  we  most  need,  as 
Spiritualists  and  Liberalists,  is  to  turn  our  faces  from  a  dead 
past  to  the  front  of  the  living  present,  and,  guided  by  the  star 
of  Bethlehem  that  shines  for  all,  follow  it  to  the  eternal  Gate- 
way of  Light. 


The  strong  owe  a  duty  to  the  weak — the  well  to  the  sick. 
Our  system  of  competitive  industry  gives  to  the  strong  in 
acquisitive  wisdom  the  same  advantage  that  the  physically 
strong  possess  over  the  weak.  We  would,  in  the  latter  case, 
deny  the  right  of  the  strong  to  trample  upon  the  weak  ;  but 
we  recognize  and  encourage  the  exercise  of  those  powers  and 
faculties  that  enable  one  man  to  dominate  the  labor  and  ac- 
quisitions of  others  to  his  own  use.  But  this  should  not  re- 
lease the  latter  from  the  responsibility  and  duty  he  owes  to  his 
weaker  brother. 

**# 

The  seasons  come  and  go — Winter  and  Spring  with  their 
wealth  of  flowers,  and  the  hills  and  valleys  robed  in  a  mantle 
of  green — Summer  and  Autumn  with  their  golden  harvests 


234  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

and  luscious  fruits,  to  gladden  the  hearts  and  homes  of  men — 
but  with  all  her  mutations,  the  old,  old  earth  remains  forever 
young.  So  it  is  with  the  immortal  soul,  attuned  to  the  divine 
harmony  of  existence.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  age  to  such 
a  soul.  It  is  ever  unfolding  and  never  losing  its  immortal 
freshness  and  beauty.  It  is  the  end  of  life  to  grow,  and  not 
to  languish  and  die,  spiritually. 

GET    THE    BEST. 


If  you  would  get  the  best  out  of  life,  spiritually  or  physi- 
cally, you  must  learn  to  live  in  harmony  with  your  own  soul. 
Thereby  you  come  into  sympathy,  or  rather,  your  nature  be- 
comes receptive  to  the  spirit  of  the  All  Good.  Once  fully 
under  the  dominion  of  this  spirit,  the  body  can  know  no  sick- 
ness, the  spirit  no  real  anguish.  Peace,  like  a  tidal  wave  of 
inspiration,  will  bear  you  ever  on  its  sun-kissed  crest,  and  all 
the  heaven  there  is  in  God's  universe  will  be  yours.  How,  do 
you  ask,  can  this  state  be  attained  ?  By  kind  thoughts  and 
generous  actions  ;  by  noble  endeavor  to  do  your  best  in  all 
things  ;  by  rendering  good  for  ill — love  for  hatred  ;  and  by 
constant  aspiration  for  the  interblending  of  the  divine  life  with 
vour  own. 


HOW    TO    INVESTIGATE    PSYCHIC    PHENOMENA. 

He  who  would  investigate  psychic  phenomena  to  the  best 
purpose,  and  the  best  results,  should  approach  the  subject  with  a 
passive  and  gentle  spirit  of  earnestness  and  simplicity.  The  mind 
should  be  divested  of  all  skepticism  founded  upon  mere  assump- 
tion of  facts,  or  preconceived  opinions  of  any  kind.  He  should  en- 
deavor to  realize  that  Nature  has  her  own  ways  and  methods 
for  the  accomplishing  of  her  ends,  and  that  in  these  ways  and 
methods  she  never  consults  mortal  man,  or  stops  to  consider  his 
opinions.  In  this  spirit,  and  with  an  earnest  desire  for  truth,  he 
will  find  the  spirit  world  alike  earnest  in  its  efforts  to  convince 


DELUSIONS.  235 

him  of  the  truth  of  spirit  existence  and  return.  He  must  re- 
member that  he  cannot  dictate  or  command  the  spirits  in  any 
way.  Also,  that  they  are  eager  to  convince  only  those  who 
are  truly  willing  and  ready  to  be  convinced. 


DELUSIONS. 


To  the  man  who  has  no  knowledge  of  astronomy,  the 
idea  of  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  is  a  foolish  delusion.  Can't 
he  see  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  unevenness  of  the  earth's 
surface,  that  it  is  flat  ?  Doesn't  he  know  that  if  the  earth 
"turned  over"  it  would  spill  all  the  water  out  of  the  ocean? 
Should  we  deride  him  for  his  ignorance,  or  endeavor  to  en- 
lighten him  as  to  his  errors  ?  That  is  just  where  the  great  mass  of 
mankind  stand  with  regard  to  spiritual  truth.  The  spirit-world 
is  to  them  an  undiscovered  country,  a  great  flat,  resting,  in  a 
figurative  sense,  upon  the  backs  of  four  elephants,  etc.,  with 
the  balance  of  the  foundation  not  clearly  defined  !  That  is 
the  condition  of  most  of  our  clerical  defamers. 


LIBERALISM. 


We  have  no  sympathy  with  that  so-called  Liberalism,  that 
does  nothing  but  deride  and  denounce  the  things  which  millions  of 
other  people  are  disposed  to  regard  as  sacred — the  Liberalism 
which  at  the  same  time,  does  nothing  itself  for  the  uplifting  of 
the  race.  The  mighty  charities  of  the  church,  misdirected 
and  sometimes  hurtful,  as  they  no  doubt  are,  are  vastly  more 
beneficial  to  those  that  practice  them  than  is  the  practice  of  no 
charity  at  all.  The  church  teaches  its  members  to  give,  and 
they  do  it  with  a  lavish  hand,  as  the  many  costly  church 
edifices  of  every  large  city  bear  witness ;  while  Liberalism  with 
its  multitudes  of  followers,  gives  nothing  but  emptiness  to  the 
world  ;  and  its  champions,  save  and  except  an  occasional 
mighty  genius  like  Ingersoll,  are  often  obliged  to  go  to  bed 
hungry. 


236  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

FOOLISH  PRIDE. 


.  How  much  misery  might  be  averted  in  this  world,  if  man 
were  freed  from  the  slavery  of  the  foolish  pride  that  prompts 
him  to  excel  his  neighbor  in  those  things  that  are  in  no  wise 
essential  to  his  true  happiness.  If  A  can  afford  to  gratify  ex- 
pensive tastes,  and  B  cannot,  it  is  not  well  for  the  latter  to- 
make  himself  unhappy  deploring  his  depleted  exchequer. 
Neither  is  it  wise  in  A  to  excite  envy  in  the  mind  of  his  neigh- 
bor by  an  ostentatious  display  of  his  own  advantages.  We 
should  seek  to  help  each  other  along  in  the  journey  of  life, 
ever  remembering  that  at  the  station  just  ahead,  where  we 
shall  all  embark  for  the  country  Beyond,  no  factitious  circum- 
stance of  wealth  or  fame  will  count  for  aught  in  securing  fav- 
orable accommodations.  It  will  no  doubt  often  be  found 
there  that  "the  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first." 

Who  fails  to  get  the  best  experiences  out  of  this  life,, 
misses  a  golden  means  of  happiness  in  the  next.  And  there 
is  nothing  that  helps  one  to  such  experiences  so  much  as  a 
kind  and  thoughtful  regard  for  the  welfare  of  others.  Who 
takes  no  interest  in  his  fellow  men,  but  shuts  himself  up  in  his 
own  shell,  bent  only  on  his  own  happiness,  is  making  for  him- 
self a  condition — (a  Karma,  the  Theosophist  calls  it) — that  will 
be  likely  to  cause  him  no  little  inconvenience  in  the  life  to 
come.  It  pays  to  be  generous,  to  be  manly,  to  be  considerate 
of  others,  even  in  this  life ;  but  vastly  more  in  that  land  where 
character  is  the  only  passport  to  companionship  with  angels. 

* 
*  * 

If  the  infinite  Creator  made  a  mistake  in  the  creation  of 
man,  as  he  must  have  done  if  the  doctrine  of  the  "  fall  of 
man  "  be  true,  then  what  becomes  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
Creator?  Is  it  not  more  creditable  to  both  man  and  his 
Maker  to  believe  that  the  former,  through  an  infinite  process 
of  evolution,  has  come  up  from  some  lower  but  analogous  type 


EVIL    THOUGHTS.  237 

of  animal  lite  to  his  present  high  condition,  than  that  he  was 
created  "a  little  lower  than  the  angels,"  but  by  disobedience 
fell  from  his  high  estate?  There  is  some  virtue  in  rising  but 

surely  none  in  falling. 

••*••» 

EVTT,  THOUGHTS. 


Evil  thoughts  sting  and  hurt  the  spirit  whence  they  eman- 
ate, even  more  than  they  do  the  object  towards  which  they  are 
directed.  We  cannot  think  ill  of  anyone  without  connecting 
ourselves,  in  a  certain  sense,  with  all  the  ill  in  the  universe. 
We  thereby  place  ourselves  in  the  current,  as  it  were,  of  un- 
friendly elements.  We  become  receptive  to  evil  influences, 
and  to  all  that  retards  the  growth  and  advancement  of  the 
spirit.  The  result  is  an  inharmonious  condition,  often  result- 
ing in  sickness  and  premature  death.  We  all  ought  to  live  to 
ripe  old  age,  in  the  full  possession  of  health  to  the  last.  That 
many  do  not,  is  no  doubt  mainly  due  to  their  ignorance  of  the 
laws  of  life  and  health.  They  drift  unconsciously  into  these 
inhospitable  currents,  and  suffer  the  ills  thereof,  without  realiz- 
ing that  they  have  the  remedy  in  their  own  hands. 

GKANI>   MARCH. 


Fall  in  for  the  grand  march  of  ideas  !  Humanity  is  com- 
ing forth  from  the  old,  and  emerging  into  the  new.  For  cen- 
turies, man  has  been  taught  to  think  according  to  rule — to 
take  his  religion  from  labelled  bottles,  put  up  and  sealed  in 
the  misty  past  by  pious  but  unschooled  religious  apothecaries. 
Just  as  though  he  was  not  a  progressive  being,  and  that  what 
was  good  for  him  in  his  infancy  would  be  sufficient  for  him  for 
all  time.  He  has  now  reached  a  period  of  unfoldment  wherein 
he  must  have  a  reason  in  and  for  his  theology,  and  wherein  he 
is  no  longer  content  with  the  childish  fables  and  fairy  stories, 
in  the  name  of  religion,  that  filled  the  needs  of  his  infancy. 
Fall  in,  then,  for  the  grand  march  of  truth  ! 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 
ONE  WORLD  AT  A  TIME. 


"One  world  at  a  time," says  the  Materialist.  "Live  while 
ye  may,  for  to-morrow  ye  die."  And  by  death  they  mean  a 
•dreamless  sleep  —  an  unconscious  cessation  of  being.  If  we 
live  the  true  life — live  for  the  attainment  of  the  highest  end 
of  being — it  doubtless  matters  little  whether  we  believe  in  a 
future  life  or  not.  But  the  trouble  is,  it  were  almost  if  not 
•quite  impossible  to  live  our  best  with  no  broader  outlook  than 
that  which  bounds  the  limit  of  our  mortal  years.  What  to  us 
are  the  woes  of  the  world — what  the  plaints  of  the  overbur- 
dened, "the  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune"  to  the 
struggling  ones  —  if  our  own  paths  are  made  smooth  down  to 
the  vortex  whence  we  must  needs  plunge  into  oblivion  !  It  is 
the  something  beyond  "must  give  us  pause."  Hence,  we 
would  amend  the  Materialist's  refrain  by  substituting,  "Both 
worlds  for  all  time  and  eternity. 


What  would  not  the  mother,  bending  over  her  dying 
babe,  and  prayerfully  watching  the  fluttering  away  of  its  little 
life,  give  to  know,  in  very  truth,  that  there  were  fond  arms 
ready  and  waiting  to  enfold  it  to  a  loving  heart,  just  over  the 
line  that  separates  the  visible  from  the  invisible — and  that 
nightly,  perhaps,  when  separated  from  its  earthly  body,  it  will 
be  brought  to  her  own  seemingly  empty  arms,  for  the  strength 
and  nourishment  necessary  for  its  spiritual  growth?  What  a 
comfort  is  this  thought  to  all  mothers  who  have  found  the 
truth. 

*  # 

The  mole  burrows  in  the  dark  earth ;  the  owl  and  the 
bat  come  forth  with  the  shades  of  night  to  seek  their  prey ;  — 
so  the  mind,  beclouded  in  ignorance,  and  on  evil  bent,  gropes 
in  darkness,  hiding  from  the  light  of  the  spirit  that  shines  for 
.all.  Come  forth,  O  brother  man,  into  the  light,  and  live  to 
honor  thy  being  —  worthy  of  thy  immortal  destiny. 


GLORY    OF    FORGETFULNESS.  239 

GLORY    OF   FORGETFUT,NESS. 

It  is  glorious  to  forget,  when  forgetfulness  means  the 
obliteration  of  unprofitable  recollections.  And  such  are  the 
recollections  of  all  things  that  destroy  happiness,  or  retard  the 
growth  of  the  spirit.  Has  the  world  gone  wrong  with  you  ? 
Forget  it,  and  look  to  the  future  for  better  things  to  come. 
Has  your  friend  betrayed  you,  or  your  enemy  sought  to  injure 
you  ?  Seek  to  so  live  that  in  time  to  come  the  regret  will  be 
theirs  and  not  yours.  Has  death  robbed  you  of  your  idols 
and  deep  sorrow  mantled  your  life  ?  Remember  that  in  some 
of  God's  "  many  mansions"  you  will  find  them  all  again,  where 
the  pain  of  parting  will  be  known  and  felt  no  more.  Remem- 
ber that  there  is  abundant  recompense  for  all  life's  woes — 
sometime — and  somewhere. 


The  true  life — the  life  of  the  soul — the  only  life  that  is 
eternal — is  within  the  reach  of  all.  All  that  pertains  to  this 
animal  existence — the  appetites  and  passions — the  greed  for 
gain — the  earthly  ambitions — must  all  die  out  and  disappear 
sometime.  They  are  all  "of  the  earth  earthy."  Only  the 
"things  of  the  spirit" — the  virtues,  loves,  humanities,  the 
higher  aspirations,  the  outreachings  for  truth,  and  for  the  spirit- 
ual unfoldment  that  shall  bring  one  into  unison  with  the 
angelic  hosts  and  the  heart  of  the  Infinite — these  only  will 
live  forever. 

*  * 

How  empty  and  profitless  must  seem  all  things  of  earth — 
all  unused  wealth,  all  pride  of  name  or  station,  all  "  pomp 
and  circumstance"  of  life — to  the  man  whose  feet  are  cold 
with  the  creeping  chill  of  death,  and  who  realizes  that  with  a 
few  more  faint  pulsations  his  heart  will  be  silent  forevermore. 
That  time  will  come  to  all,  and,  in  the  course  of  nature,  to 
many  of  us  soon.  And  yet  how  prone  we  are  to  live  as  though 
the  day  were  far  hence,  and  all  our  needs  centered  here.  The 


240  ••  .SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

harvest  is  ripe/  gather  ye  in  the  sheaves;  "for  the  night  cometh 
when  no  man  can  work." 


MORAL 

The  tendency  to  commit  criminal  acts  is  a  moral  disease, 
and  those  afflicted  therewith  should  be  treated  as  humanely 
as  we  would  treat  those  who  are  afflicted  with  mental  or 
physical  maladies.  Not  that  we  would  go  to  the  extreme  of 
absolving  the  criminal  from  all  accountability  for  his  acts;  for 
that  accountability,  however  slight  it  may  be,  is  the  leverage 
whereby  we  would  work  his  cure.  At  the  same  time  we  would 
throw  around  him  those  benign  and  humane  influences  best 
calculated  to  stimulate  his  moral  nature.  It  is  much  easier  to 
arouse  the  better  nature  of  undeveloped  man  by  kind  treat- 
ment, than  to  suppress  the  evil  side  by  harsh  means.  Our 
prisons  should  be  made  schools  of  reform,  and  the  prisoner 
should  be  restored  to  liberty  only  when  such  reform  is  effected; 
and  once  cured  of  his  malady,  no  more  odium  should  attach 
to  him  than  to  a  discharged  hospital  patient  cured  of 
small-pox. 

To  one  who  has  sought  the  spiritual  unfoldment  of  his 
own  nature,  and  come  closely  in  rapport  with  the  spirit  world 
—  who  can  hold  daily  communion  with  his  own  loved  ones  in 
spirit,  —  he  finds  therein,  and  in  the  sweet  assurance  of  a  happy 
time  to  come  when  he  shall  join  them  in  the  Beyond,  a  joy 
and  satisfaction  that  he  would  not  exchange  for  aught  that 

earth  can  give. 

* 
*  * 

"  There  is  only  a  thin  veil  between  us,"  so  thin  that  many 
with  clear  spiritual  vision  can  see  the  forms  upon  the  other 
side  ;  and  often  the  veil  is  swept  entirely  away,  and  we  are  per- 
mitted to  greet  them  face  to  face.  A  grander  truth  the  world 
has  never  known,  Our  facts  and  philosophy  demonstrate  be- 


A  MOTHER'S  LOVK.  241 

yond  reasonable  question  that  "if  a  man  die  he  shall  live 
again."  How  puerile,  then,  the  efforts  of  the  ignorant  and 
prejudiced  to  ignore  this  truth,  and  cast  reproach  upon  its  be- 
lievers. The  narrow  bigots  of  the  pulpit,  who  believe  in  con- 
tinued existence  without  proof,  and  revile  Spiritualists  for  dem- 
onstrating the  fact  of  spirit  existence,  ought  to  hide  their  heads 
for  shame. 


A  MOTHER'S  L.OVK. 


Who  can  measure  the  depths  of  a  mother's  love.  There 
is  no  grief  so  terrible,  no  pain  so  keen,  as  that  which  comes  to 
the  mother's  heart  as  she  anxiously  watches  the  fading  away  of 
the  life  of  the  darling  babe  she  pillows  upon  her  bosom.  "Oh 
pitying  God, "  she  cries,  in  the  agony  of  her  bursting  heart, 
"  is  there  no  help  T  But  no  answer  comes  to  her  from  the 
depths  profound.  The  fluttering  pulse  grows  fainter  with  each 
gasping  breath,  and  then  all  is  still,  save  the  wild  wail  of  her 
own  dispair.  She  sees  not  the  loving  mother  angel  bending 
down  by  her  side  to  gather  the  little  cherub  in  her  arms.  She 
hears  not  the  sweet  notes  of  loving  welcome  that  hail  the 
newly-born  spirit,  as  it  opens  its  pretty  eyes  upon  the  delights 
of  its  beautiful  spirit  home.  All  is  dark,  dark.  In  this  hour 
of  her  woe,  "not  all  the  preaching  since  Adam,"  can  give  to 
her  such  comfort  as  the  positive  knowledge  that  Spiritualism 
brings,  that  her  babe  still  lives,  and  will  soon  come  to  nestle 
again  in  her  own  loving  arms. 

What  is  there  more  beautiful  in  all  of  God's  universe  than 
a  beautiful  soul?  An  unselfish  soul — a  gentle,  loving,  sym- 
pathetic soul — a  soul  that  is  ever  seeking  the  good  of  others — 
these  are  all  beautiful  souls, — souls  that  the  shining  ones  de- 
light to  draw  near  to — souls  that  have  become  one  with  the 
divine  soul.  We  all  know  such  souls,  and  we  ever  find 
special  delight  in  being  known  by  them. 


242  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

THE    INEVITABLE. 


It  is  very  hard  for  man  to  reconcile  himself  to  the  inev- 
itable. He  cannot  understand  why  he  should  be  compelled 
to  occupy  a  weak,  sickly  body,  while  his  neighbor  is  strong 
and  robust; — why  his  child  should  be  taken  from  him,  and 
his  neighbor's  left ; — why  he  should  struggle  on  in  poverty, 
toiling  early  and  late  for  the  bare  necessities  of  life,  while  his 
neighbor  revels  in  affluence.  If  he  could  only  realize  how 
little  difference,  really,  there  is  between  the  condition  of  his 
neighbor  and  that  of  himself,  with  the  advantage  often  in  his 
own  favor,  he  would  cease  repining.  Wealth  has  cares  and 
anxieties  that  poverty  little  knows.  Health  of  body  and  mind; 
capacity  to  enjoy  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  nature;  love, 
with  all  its  sacred  ties  and  promptings;  aspiration,  hope,  the 
pleasure  of  knowledge,  the  true  gladness  of  existence, — which 
are  about  all  there  is  of  this  life, — are  quite  as  much,  if  not 
really  more,  the  property  of  the  poor  man  as  of  the  rich. 
Lift  iii)  >r°ur  head,  O  my  struggling  brother,  and  be  glad. 

The  very  best  indication  that  Spiritualism  is  making  rapid 
inroads  upon  the  conservative  thought  of  the  age,  and  sapping 
the  foundations  of  error,  is  the  bitter  and  ignorant  hostility  it 
has  aroused  among  the  crystallized  fossils  of  old  theology. 
It  is  a  glorious  fact  that  ail  preachers  of  the  Christian  gospel 
are  not  of  this  class.  Some  of  them  have  the  good  sense  to 
see  that  Spiritualism  embraces  all  that  is  good  in  Christianity, 
in  addition  to  which  it  furnishes  the  skeptical  world  with  the 
positive  proof  of  spirit  existence,  that  survives  the  destruction 
of  the  earthly  body. 

The  rich  man  who  possesses  the  good  sense  to  become  the 
executor  of  his  own  estate,  and  wisely  disposes  of  the  same, 
will  not  have  occasion  to  worry  himself,  "  over  there,"  about 


A    WIDE    DIFFERENCE  24$ 

what  he  might  have  done.  With  his  earth  work  all  accom^ 
plished,  he  will  go  on  at  once  to  higher  enjoyments  and  richer 
experiences. 

A  WIDE  DIFFERENCE. 


It  is  one  thing  to  believe  in  spirit  communion,  quite  an- 
other to  be  a  truly  spiritual  man  or  woman.  Hence,  among 
Spiritualists,  or  those  claiming  to  be  such,  we  find  nearly  all 
grades  of  meanness  and  unworthiness.  This  is  not  the  fault 
of  Spiritualism,  but  of  poor,  undeveloped  human  nature.  A 
fault  which  all  true  Spiritualists  should  seek  to  overcome,  first 
in  their  own  natures,  and  next  in  the  natures  and  lives  of  their 
neighbors.  We  make  no  pretension  to  goodness.  It  would 
be  egotism  and  selfishness  in  us  combined  to  think  that  we 
possessed  any  virtues  superior  to  those  of  our  neighbors. 
And  yet,  we  humbly  believe,  that  before  we  would  seek  to- 
rise  by  pulling  some  one  else  down,  or  injure  another  in  his> 
good  name  or  in  his  business,  we  would,  to  borrow  one  of  Sam 
Jones'  forcible  figures  of  speech,  "trade  ourselves  off  for  a 
yaller  dog,  and  then  hire  a  Chinaman  to  kill  the  dog." 


The  lesson  which  the  Teacher  seemed  to  regard  as  one  of 
the  utmost  importance,  and  one  which  he  enforced  upon  his 
hearers  and  followers  upon  all  occasions,  was  that  of  charity. 
He  regarded  one  who  had  no  charity  in  his  heart  for  the- 
weaknesses  and  shortcomings  of  his  fellow  beings  as  one  who- 
came  far  short  of  the  kingdom  —  that  is,  of  that  state  or  con- 
dition of  spirit  conducive  to  the  truest  happiness  in  this  life 
and  the  next.  Of  the  three  graces,  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity,, 
a  certain  ritual  declares — "The  greatest  of  these  is  Charity ; 
"for  faith  may  be  lost  in  sight,  Hope  ends  in  fruition,  but  Char- 
ity extends  beyond  the  grave  throughout  the  countless  ages, 
"of  eternity." 


244  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

The  facts  and  philosophy  of  Spiritualism  are  inseparably 
united.  They  must  necessarily  go  through  the  world  hand  in 
"hand.  The  philosophy  without  the  phenomena  would  tax  the 
credulity  of  men  as  never  did  the  myths  and  fables  of  super- 
stition. It  would  be  the  old  impossibility  of  intelligent  belief 
by  faith,  We  must  substitute  knowledge  for  speculation,  and 
knowledge  of  spirit  existence  and  its  power  to  return  can  only 
come  with  the  positive  manifestations,  as  given  through  our 
mediums.  Hence,  there  should  not  be  the  slightest  occasion 
for  inharmony  among  Spiritualists  on  this  point.  Each  phase 

of  Spiritualism  is  a  "  part  of  one  stupendous  whole." 

-£ 
*  * 

There  is  a  satisfaction  that  comes  to  the  soul  with  the 
knowledge  that  life  is  continuous  beyond  the  grave,  and  that 
there  are  none  lost  in  an  orthodox  sense  of  everlasting  punish- 
ment —  a  satisfaction  far  beyond  aught  that  words  can  express. 
It  takes  out  of  the  heart  the  rankling  feeling  that  the  plan  of 
the  universe  is  a  stupendous  wrong,  and  fills  it  to  the  brim  with 
reverence  for  the  Creator.  It  reconciles  one  to  life  and  duty, 
and  strews  the  most  rugged  pathway  with  flowers.  Let  us  be 
glad  and  rejoice  that  there  is  love  enough  in  the  heart  of  God 
to  save  all  His  children. 

;;: 

:•:  '  :•: 

Spiritualists  can  never  know  how  much  of  real  joy  there 
is  in  their  beautiful  philosophy  until  their  own  spirits  are 
brought  into  harmony  with  the  divine  spirit  of  love  and  char- 
ity for  all.  The  mere  acceptance  of  a  belief  in  the  facts  of 
spirit  phenomena  is  of  no  benefit  to  any  one,  without  the 
adaptation  of  one's  life  to  the  teachings  that  come  with  such 
phenomena.  But  entered  into  in  the  right  spirit,  and  with  the 
-soul  attuned  to  the  harmonies  of  the  higher  life,  there  is  in 
this  new  gospel  such  a  wealth  of  joy  as  no  tongue  can  express. 


* 
*  * 


The  following  idea  of  God  was    given    through   a  child- 
medium  of  eight  years,  the  daughter  of  a  friend  of  the  writer: 


GIVING    WHAT    ONE    DOESN  T    WANT. 


245 


•"Tell  us  what  you  know  of  God."  "We  have  never  seen  God, 
and  do  not  think  any  one  ever  has,  or  will  see  Him."  "Please 
give  us  your  idea  of  God."  "  Take  everything  that  exists — 
everything  —  and  God  is  the  Life,  the  Soul  and  the  Spirit  of 
it  all."  Could  a  Talmage  have  given  a  better  answer  ? 

GIVING  WHAT  ONE  DOESN'T  WANT. 


There  is  but  little,  if  any,  virtue  in  giving  what  one 
-doesn't  want,  or  what  one  can  give  and  never  miss,  or  can 
spare  without  any  inconvenience  to  himself.  That  kind  of 
giving,  although  commendable,  is  never  very  highly  inspiring 
to  the  giver.  The  giving  of  the  "  widow's  mite,"  spoken  of  in 
the  Christian  Scripture,  was  a  far  grander  act,  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  than  the  giving  of  thousands  by  others  who  have  tens 
of  thousands  to  give.  Neither  is  there  much  virtue  in  post 
mortem  benevolence  ;  for  that  is  simply  giving  away  the  prop- 
erty of  others  ;  it  belongs  then  to  one's  heirs,  if  he  has  any; 
if  not,  then  it  belongs  to  the  State.  Ownership  of  earthly 
possessions  lapses  with  the  last  breath.  A  disposition  of 
property  for  charitable  purposes  by  will  is  a  good  deal  like  the 
proposition  of  Artemas  Ward,  to  sacrifice  all  his  wife's  rela- 
tives on  the  altar  of  his  country,  before  the  Union  should  be 
dissolved  !  The  good  we  would  do  in  this  world  we  should  do 
.now. 


We  are  all,  more  or  less,  subject  to  psychic  influences 
both  from  the  seen  and  unseen  world.  It  should  be  the  study 
of  every  life  to  understand  the  nature  of  these  influences,  and 
to  so  school  his  own  spirit  as  to  be  positive  to  influences  for 
•evil  and  negative  or  receptive  to  the  good.  In  this  happy 
equipoise  of  soul  man  can  steadily  move  onward  and  upward  to 
better  and  higher  conditions  of  spiritual  unfoldment,  even 
ainto  companionship  with  angels. 


SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 
A  NEW  MEANING. 


Read  in  the  light  of  the  new  Gospel,  the  old  Hebrew 
melodies  of  David  have  a  new  meaning.  In  fact,  the  old  and 
revered  writings  of  any  people  become  luminous  with  spiritual 
light,  when  once  our  spirits  become  illuminated  with  the  light 
of  truth.  They  are  the  poetic  inspirations  of  races  of  human 
beings  just  emerging  from  the  darkness  of  barbarism,  embody- 
ing often  grand  lessons  of  life  that  are  as  good  to-day  as  they 
were  when  uttered  centuries  ago.  "  A  new  commandment  give 
I  unto  you,"  said  Jesus,  "that  ye  love  one  another."  Can  any 
better  advice  than  that  be  given  to  the  world  in  these  modern 
times  ?  Can  the  attrition  of  the  ages,  or  the  erosion  of  time 
ever  wear  out  or,  deface  the  "  Golden  Rule?  "  It  is  thus  with 
all  truth  that  has  its  origin  in  the  higher  spiritual  nature  of  man. 


That  is  a  selfish,  narrow  love  that  would  exact  more  than 
it  would  give.  Indeed,  it  is  not  the  highest  love  that  would 
demand  any  return.  Such  is  not  the  love  of  a  mother  for  a 
wayward  child;  nor  of  the  wife  who  clings  devotedly  to  a  cruel 
or  worthless  husband.  It  is  not  the  love  of  a  soldier  who  gives 
up  his  life  on  the  altar  of  his  country;  nor  was  it  the  love  of 
Him  who  died  for  humanity.  If  it  is  glorious  to  give  some- 
thing for  nothing,  how  much  greater  the  glory  for  giving  good 
for  ill.  The  spirit  that  has  attained  to  such  divine  hights 
has  reached  the  vestibule  of  the  temple  where  dwells  Infinite 
Goodness. 

Who  that  has  come  into  the  truth — into  loving  nearness 
and  companionship  with  the  spirit  world — and  learned  the 
beautiful  lessons  of  life  and  love  that  angels  teach,  would  ex- 
change the  precious  satisfaction  it  gives  to  him  for  all  the  treas- 
ures of  earth  !  It  is  something  to  live  by — something  to  light 
the  way  through  the  dark  valley  to  the  sun-kissed  hills  beyond*- 


INCENTIVES    TO    A    BETTER    LIFE.  247 

INCENTIVES  TO  A  BETTER  LIFE. 


While  thousands  of  people  flock  to  hear  Moody  and  Sam 
Jones,  and  many  others  recognize  in  those  men  a  power  for 
usefulness  in  the  world,  yet  the  number  of  attendants  upon 
their  ministrations  who  take  much  stock  in  their  statements- 
of  religious  creed — that  is,  in  the  fall  of  man,  the  vicarious 
atonement,  a  personal  devil,  etc., — is  comparatively  small.  If 
sinful  men  can  be  induced  to  forsake  their  evil  ways  and 
become  better  citizens,  better  husbands  and  fathers,  in  no- 
other  way  than  through  the  preaching  of  Sam  Jones,  or  any  other 
revivalist, — if  a  belief  in  hell  fire,  literally,  is  necessary  to  save 
a  man  from  drunkenness,  or  stealing,  or  wife-beating,  we  would 
give  him  the  fire,  and  make  it  hot.  We  have  no  quarrel  with 
evangelical  religion.  While  we  think  it  is  much  more  creditable 
for  a  man  to  live  an  upright  life  from  a  sense  of  duty  than 
from  any  fear  of  post  mortem  consequences,  we  will  not  quibble 
about  the  ethics  of  the  question,  if  only  men  are  made  better. 


Nature  presents  to  man  many  problems,  many  strange 
manifestations,  which  she  expects  him  to  investigate,  and  to 
deduce  therefrom  a  lesson  for  his  benefit.  To  stand  upon  the 
border  line  of  some  phenomenon,  afraid  to  go  forward — as  do 
some  timid  souls  with  regard  to  the  wonderful  facts  of 
Spiritualism — is  indicative  of  moral  weakness  or  cowardice. 
There  is  no  forbidden  fruit  in  the  garden  of  Nature.  All  is  for 
man's  use,  for  profit  or  instruction.  He  who  would  find  the 
truth  must  seek  for  it  with  untiring  diligence,  and  never  allow 
any  bugbear  of  superstition  to  intimidate  him  from  the  search. 


* 

•x-    • 


How  rapidly  the  years  glide  away — youth,  manhood,  age 
— the  three  milestones  irt  the  journey  of  life,  that  seem  so  very 
far  apart  in  childhood,  are  but  a  step  from  each  other  as  we 
look  backward.  First  a  pulsating  germ,  then  a  conscious  entity 


248  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

struggling  in  the  coil  of  destiny,  then  a  helpless  clod  trundled 
away  to  the  ash  heap!  Oh,  marvelous  mystery  of  being ! 
Well  may  we  ask,  Whence  cometh  man,  and  whither  goeth  he? 

* 

*     # 

In  many  ways  human  life  has  its  counterpart  in  outward 
nature.  In  some  lives  we  see  the  tempest  and  the  whirlwind; 
in  some  the  shifting  sands  of  the  desert  and  the  restless  tumult 
of  the  waves;  in  some  the  calm  and  beauty  of  the  summer 
sunset;  in  some  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  the  mountain  peak. 
In  others  still  we  have  the  melody  of  birds,  the  murmur  of  the 
rippling  brook,  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers,  and  the  soft  airs 
of  spring.  But  whatever  type  of  life  may  be  thine,  dear  reader, 
let  it  not  be  wanting  in  that  divine  sweetness  that  makes  it  one 

with  God. 

* 

-K-     •£ 

How  much  better  is  wisdom  than  riches, — not  the  wisdom 
that  plans  only  for  time,  but  the  true  wisdom  of  the  spirit  that 
lays  its  foundations  in  truth  and  builds  for  eternity.  Think  ye 
not,  O  mortal,  ye  whose  life  is  wholly  wrapped  up  in  the  gar- 
ments of  earth,  that  when  you  come  to  lay  aside  those  garments, 
you  will  blush  at  your  own  nakedness?  What  is  the  flitting 
phantasm  of  the  full  span  of  mortal  years,  to  the  countless 
aeons  of  infinate  duration  beyond  !  Shall  we  feed  the  spirit  on 
husks  to  gratify  the  vanities  of  earth  ?  Shall  we  live  that  we 

may  die,  or  die  that  we  may  live  ? 

* 

*     :?: 

"  Would  you  put  away  the  Bible  ?  "  inquires  a  good  sister, 
whose  heart  had  been  touched  with  the  new  gospel,  but  who 
still  clings  to  the  religion  and  teaching  of  her  fathers.  Cer- 
tainly not;  we  would  put  nothing  away,  or  out  of  the  lite  of  the 
world,  that  is  of  any  use  to  humanity.  There  are  many  golden 
lessons  in  both  testaments  that  the  world  needs  to-day  as  never 
before.  There  are  some  things,  in  the  Old  Testament  espe- 
cially, that  we  would  not  care  to  perpetuate  ; — for  instance,  the 


SLAVES    TO    ENVIRONMENT.  249 

cruelties  and  debaucheries  said  to  have  been  perpetrated  by  the 
consent  and  at  the  instigation  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  We  do 
not  believe  the  Lord  ever  countenanced  murder  or  rapine  in 
the  past,  any  more  than  he  does  to-day.  God  speaks  to  man 
by  inspiration  just  the  same  in  one  age  as  in  another. 


SLAVES  TO  ENVIRONMENT. 


We  are  all  slaves,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  first,  to 
heredity,  second,  to  early  training,  and  next  to  environment. 
While  we  recognize  the  mighty  power  of  the  spirit  to  overcome 
these  conditions,  in  time  or  eternity,  we  must  ever  bear  in 
mind  and  ever  acknowledge  their  potency  in  diverting  man 
from  the  straight  and  narrow  way  of  rectitude>  honor,  temper- 
ance and  spiritual  independence,  which  his  better  nature  and 
higher  impulses  tell  him  is  the  true,  way  of  life.  A  better 
knowledge  of  this  fact  would  teach  those  who  have  been  blest 
with  better  conditions  to  exercise  the  broadest  charity  towards 
their  less  fortunate  brothers.  If  you  are  better  than  your 
neighbor,  pause  and  consider  whether  or  not  you  might  not 
have  been  worse,  had  you  been  in  his  place.  Humility  is  a 
virtue  that  but  few  of  us  are  overstocked  with. 


Death  comes  to  the  aged  as  a  gentle  and  loving  friend. 
It  touches  the  tired  heart  and  its  pulses  are  stilled.  It  kisses 
the  eyelids  of  care,  and  they  are  lulled  to  sleep.  It  fans  the 
brow  with  its  cool  breath,  and  it  finds  repose  in  the  bosom 
of  Mother  Earth.  A  little  while,  and  the  morning  of  a  new 

day  will  break  upon  the  world. 

* 

*  * 

Titles  and  wealth  count  for  naught  in  the  country  whither 
thou  goest.  There  will  be  none  to  do  you  honor  because  of 
any  earthly  distinction  you  may  have  enjoyed  here.  The  king, 
the  prince,  and  the  beggar  are  no  longer  such,  but  only  the 
man,  the  brightness  of  whose  aura,  or  lustre  of  whose  garments 


250  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

will  depend  wholly  upon  his  purity  or  nobility  of  character. 
There  are  many  people  who  believe,  or  think  they  believe,  this 
truth,  but  who  live  as  though  they  expected  the  hosts  of  the 
spirit  world  to  bow  down  before  them  when  they  shall  land 
upon  the  other  shore. 

COME  UP. 


Come  up  out  of  the  cellar,  O  brother  sojourner  in  the 
City  of  the  Mortal  !  Do  heavy  cares  weigh  you  down  ?  Are 
you  worrying  or  borrowing  trouble  over  what  you  cannot  help  ? 
It  does  you  no  good  to  mope,  or  go  down  into  the  cellar  of 
your  nature,  where  all  is  dark,  damp  and  dismal.  That  is  not 
the  way  to  bear  the  load.  Your  angel  friends  cannot  help  you 
there,  because  they  cannot  reach  you.  They  would  have  you 
come  up  and  out  into  the  sweet  sunlight  of  the  spirit,  where 
they  can  see  the  trials  that  beset  you,  and  assist  you  in  removing 
them.  If  you  do  your  best,  and  then  fail,  you  have  real  cause 
for  rejoicing.  You  will  yet  be  crowned  victor  in  the  home  of 
the  immortals,  if  not  in  the  land  of  Beulah. 


Blessed  be  the  man  who  finds  heaven  in  this  life,  for  then 
he  has  something  that  can  never  be  taken  from  him.  He 
need  then  have  no  apprehensions  concerning  the  future,  for  he 
has  brought  the  future,  with  all  its  treasures  of  delights,  into 
his  own  soul.  Life  henceforth  becomes  to  him  a  living  joy. 
The  nearest  and  most  direct  road  to  this  condition  of  happi- 

ness is  by  doing  good  to  others. 

* 

*  * 
The  believer  in  our  facts  whose  Spiritualism  is  all  upon 

the  external  plane  —  that  is,  in  the  pleasures  of  sensuous  phe- 
nomena —  with  no  high  aspiration  for  the  uplifting  and  unfold- 
ment  of  his  own  spiritual  nature  —  misses  the  lesson  of  the 
divine  purpose  in  his  earthly  discipline  by  an  infinite  waste  of 
barren  years.  It  is  not  by  beholding  the  goal  from  afar,  but  by 
manfully  running  the  race,  that  we  may  win  the  prize. 


A    RELIGIOUS    WAR.  251 

A  RELIGIOUS  WAR. 


"The  next  war,"  says  an  alarmist  friend  of  ours,  "will 
be  a  religious  war."  If  so  it  will  be  a  bloodless  war,  a  war  of 
opinions  merely.  There  are  but  very  few  persons  who  have 
enough  of  the  kind  of  religion  that  would  prompt  them  to 
fight  to  force  it  upon  the  consciences  of  others,  and  the  num. 
ber  is  daily  becoming  less.  Let  Rome,  for  instance,  undertake 
it,  and  all  the  world,  Protestant  and  Pagan,  would  rise  up 
against  her.  Let  any  one  of  the  Protestant  sects,  or  all  of 
them  combined,  attempt  the  sublime  folly,  and  they  would 
have  to  encounter  all  manner  of  liberalism,  with  Rome  added. 
Public  opinion  is  stronger  than  law,  hence  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing to  force  any  law  upon  the  people  that  is  distasteful  to  them. 
We  say  to  all  souls,  overburdened  with  the  idea  that  the  people 
are  to  be  deprived,  by  religious  intolerance,  of  any  human 
right,  or  reasonable  liberty,  Don't  you  believe  it. 

Every  rich  man,  if  he  is  reasonably  wise,  will  be  the  execu- 
tor of  his  own  estate.  Then  he  can  make  just  such  disposi- 
tion of  it  as  he  would  like.  His  wealth  will  not  be  at  the 
mercy  of  probate  courts,  nor  scheming  lawyers,  nor  unworthy 
heirs — after  he  passes  out  and  on.  To  look  down  from  one's 
future  abode  and  behold  the  careful  accumulations  of  one's 
lifetime  of  years  scattered  to  the  winds  by  rollicking  relatives, 
who  are  only  too  glad  to  get  their  fingers  on  the  old  man's  coin, 
•can  not  afford  the  spirit  a  very  great  measure  of  comfort. 
Why  wait  until  it  is  everlastingly  too  late,  but  do  the  good  now 
that  will  give  to  the  disenthralled  spirit  the  blessing  of  rest  a 
little  further  on. 

The  spirit  world  has  undertaken  a  mighty  work — that  of 
uplifting  and  spiritualizing  the  world  of  humanity  that  is  exclud- 
ed from  the  churches.  It  ought  to  have  the  "God-speed"  of 
the  churches  in  this  work,  but  it  has  not.  They  seem  to  prefer 


252  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

that  man  shall  go  to  hades  unless  he  chooses  to  go  to  heaven- 
by  their  especial  lines.  They  denounce  Spiritualism  for 
the  shortcomings  of  its  believers,  forgetting  that  it  is  working 
up  valuable  material  that  they  have  had  the  short-sightedness 
to  overlook  and  exclude. 


ERRONEOUS  BELIEF. 

There  are  many  good  people  who  really  believe  that  our 
liberties  are  in  danger  from  religious  intolerance — that  the 
efforts  of  a  few  cranks  to  fasten  a  law  for  Sunday  observance 
upon  the  nation,  and  to  force  the  Bible  into  the  public  schools, 
will  surely  succeed  if  not  met  with  vigorous  resistance.  They  seem 
to  overlook  the  fact  that  there  is  a  silent  resistant  force  in  modern 
civilization  which  renders  all  such  efforts  absolutely  futile.  It 
is  impossible  for  the  race  to  go  back  into  the  swaddling  clothes 
of  its  infancy.  Not  but  there  may  be  those  who  would  seek  even 
to  re-establish  the  inquisition,  or  re-enact  the  blue  laws  of  the 
early  American  colonies,  but  with  the  aggregate  of  enlightenment 
against  them,  which  is  steadily  broadening  and  increasing,  they 
might  as  well  undertake  to  check  the  onward  flow  of  the  gulf 
stream  with  a  sand-bag,  or  trip  up  a  cyclone  with  a  feather. 

TRUTH. 


The  truth  should  be  the  goal  of  all  philosophy — of  all 
religious  thought.  No  man  should  be  so  wrapped  up  in  his 
own  conceit  as  to  imagine  he  has  all  the  truth.  He  cannot 
afford  to  deceive  himself,  and  certainly,  if  he  is  honest,  he 
would  not  deceive  others.  It  may  be  humiliating  to  him  to 
be  compelled  to  cast  down  his  idols,  and  surrender  his 
cherished  opinions;  but  his  readiness  to  do  so,  when  convinced 
of  the  truth,  is  the  true  gauge  of  manly  honesty.  What  matters 
it  if  one  happens  to  be  wrong,  if  he  is  only  willing  to  be  set 
aright.  It  is  dogmatic  adherence  to  the  wrong,  in  the  face  of 


LIKE    ATTRACTS    LIKE.  253 

reasonable  evidence  to  the  contrary,   that   makes   the  angels 
weary  of  their  task  in  the  reformation  of  humanity. 
§o§ 

LIKE  ATTRACTS   LIKE. 


He  who  lives  on  a  low  plane,  and  indulges  in  unworthy 
thoughts,  naturally  attracts  to  his  atmosphere  spirits  upon  the 
same  level  of  life,  and  he  therein  finds  helps  to  a  downward 
course.  Hence,  the  natural  tendency  of  all  who  thus  live  is 
to  gravitate  from  bad  to  worse — to  sink  to  still  lower  levels  in 
the  scale  of  being.  ( )n  the  other  hand,  he  who  aspires  to  the 
better  life — says  to  his  lower  nature,  "  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan," —  will  receive  help  from  the  spirit  to  overcome.  If  he 
looks  upward,  with  an  earnest  aspiration  to  rise,  he  will  ever 
find  a  friendly  hand  reaching  downward  to  help  him.  And  so 
it  is,  that  there  is  no  standing  still  in  life's  journey.  We  are 
either  ascending  the  hights,  or  descending  into  the  dark  valleys. 
In  the  latter  case  through  what  agonies  must  the  spirit  pass  in 
its  backward  turning  to  the  light  no  one  can  know. 


— lot — 


ALL  TRAVELERS  IN  LIFE'S  JOURNEY. 

Ought  we  not  to  school  ourselves  to  look  with  tender  com- 
passion upon  the  undeveloped  spirit  that  can  do  another  a 
wrong?  Only  think  of  the  long  journey  before  such  souls — 
the  path  beset  with  thorns,  which  they  must  walk  with  aching 
hearts  and  bleeding  feet,  before  they  can  reach  the  higher  life 
of  the  spirit.  We  are  all  travelers  in  life's  journey  together;  the 
strong  should  assist  the  weak — should  help  them  to  bear  their 
burdens  with  patience  and  humility.  Can  he  ask  for  help  or 
strength  who  is  unwilling  to  impart  help  or  strength  to  those 
weaker  than  himself?  And  what  is  the  one  who  would  do 
wrong  to  his  fellows  but  one  who  is  weak,  and  needs  help  to 
overcome  the  evil  in  his  own  nature  ?  Let  us  ascend  the 
hights  of  being,  not  grope  in  the  shadows. 


254  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

0>    TO    OTHKK    CONQI  ESTS. 

There  are  too  many  mere  believers  in  spiritual  phenom- 
ena in  the  world,  and  too  few  whose  lives  have  been  made 
sweeter  and  more  beautiful  by  an  acceptance,  first,  of  the  facts 
of  Spiritualism,  and  next,  by  squaring  their  lives  according  to 
the  higher  teachings  of  our  beautiful  philosophy.  It  should  be 
the  ambition  of  all  believers  in  the  intercommunion  of  the 
two  worlds  to  bring  themselves  into  harmony  with  the  higher 
and  finer  symphonies  of  the  divine  life  of  the  soul.  Win- 
should  anyone  be  content  to  go  through  life  forever  "  seeking 
for  a  sign,"  especially  when  he  has  had  a  thousand  signs,  and 
knows  of  a  certainty  that  the  spirit  survives  the  death  of  the 
body?  No  wise  or  thoughtful  person  will  content  himself 
with  the  simple  possession  of  a  spiritual  fact,  however  great  or 
important  it  may  be.  He  will  soon  begin  to  correlate  it  with 
his  own  spirit,  and  then  pass  on  to  other  conquests. 


How  often,  with  the  new  year,  thoughtful  men — men 
encased  wholly  in  the  affairs  of  earth,  but  who  sometimes  think 
beyond  the  present, — how  often  do  such  men,  with  the  opening 
year,  resolve  better  things.  Bad  habits  are  cast  off,  and  many 
good  resolutions  recorded  on  the  tablets  of  their  minds,  which 
all  too  often  fail  to  take  root  in  the  spirit.  A  little  while,  and 
they  drift  back  into  their  old  ways,  and  not  even  a  vestige  of 
their  good  resolution  is  left,  to  indicate  that  they  ever  thought 
of  "entering  the  path''  that  leads  to  the  higher  life. 

.•:: 

:•:     :;: 

The  man  or  woman  who  cannot  rise  superior  to  the  petty 
passions  of  hatred  towards  an  inferior,  for  any  real  or  imaginary 
wrong  done  to  them,  shows  themselves  to  be  no  better  or  nobler 
than  the  object  of  their  uncharitable  thought.  There  is  much 
they  will  find  it  necessary  to  overcome  in  their  own  natures 
before  they  are  prepared  to  '-'enter  the  path  "  of  spiritual  growth. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  true  happiness,  and  that  is  by  the 


WHAT   HK   MOST  NKKDS.  2  c;  q 

exercise  of  the  spirit  of  forgiveness  and  gentleness.  It  may  not 
be  really  possible  to  love  one's  enemies,  but  it  is  possible  not  to 
hate  or  despise  them.  Until  we  can  render  good  for  evil  we 
are  not  the  children  of  Light. 


AVHAT    HE    MOST    NEEDS. 


\Vhat  every  Spiritualist  most  needs  is  the  uplifting  of  his 
own  spiritual  nature.  When  once  he  knows  that  the  so-called 
dead  live  again,  and  that  under  certain  conditions  they  can 
hold  communication  with  mortals,  then  should  he  set  himself 
at  the  task  of  preparing  himself  for  that  higher  life,  by  bring- 
ing himself  into  harmony  with  the  Divine  spirit  in  his  own  na- 
ture. This  he  can  not  do  by  unworthy  thoughts  and  practices. 
He  must  get  beyond  the  everlasting  seeking-  after  tests.  The 
test  is  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  skeptic,  not  to  transfix  it 
for  all  time  to  that  one  object.  And  yet,  how  many  Spiritual- 
ists there  are  who  seem  to  stop  right  there.  There  are  many 
instances  in  nature  of  what  might  be  regarded  as  arrested  de- 
velopment. Such  instances  ought  not  to  be  found  among  those 
to  whom  the  new  gospel  has  come. 

••  »  <•- 

The  life  of  man  is  the  life  of  the  mere  animal,  when 
prompted  by  no  impulse  to  a  noble  end.  To  live  and  toil,  to 
buy  and  sell,  and  struggle  for  earthly  possessions,  and  all  that 
the  physical  man  may  be  cared  for,  and  revel  in  the  delights 
of  earth,  with  no  out  reach  ing  for  the  higher  life—  in  unfoldment 
of  the  spiritual  nature  —  no  aspiration  for  the  divine  life,  which 
is  the  perfection  of  existence  —  is  to  live  and  die  as  the  brute 
dies.  Such  an  existence  is  unworth  an  immortal  soul. 


:•: 


How  swift  the  gliding  years  !  Increasing,  seemingly,  with 
the  momentum  of  time,  until  the  landmarks  of  life  —  the  birth- 
days and  the  holidays,  the  days  of  gladness  and  the  days  of 
woe  —  blend  into  each  other,  like  the  wayside  objects  to  the 


256  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

traveler  by  the  lightning  express.  And  so  we  are  speeding 
onward  from  youth  to  manhood,  from  manhood  to  old  age,  and 
thence  out  into  the  night  of  death,  and  the  sleep  that  wakens 

upon  a  new  day. 

— ++-+• — 

ON    WHAT    HAPPINESS    DEPENDS. 

If  man  could  only  realize  how  much  his  happiness  here 
and  hereafter  depended  upon  the  unfoldment  of  those  facul- 
ties, for  which  only  will  he  have  use  in  the  life  beyond,  think 
you  he  would  be  a  laggard  in  well  doing?  What  use  in  the 
beyond,  for  instance,  will  he  have  for  the  exercise  of  the  ac- 
quisitive faculties — for  the  knack  of  money-getting,  to  which 
so  many  devote  their  lives,  —  a  very  useful  faculty,  we  con- 
cede, when"  coupled  with  generosity  and  benevolence,  but 
when  not,  a  very  millstone  about  the  neck.  What  use  will  he 
have  for  unkind  thoughts,  for  uncharitable  behavior,  for  mean- 
ness of  any  kind?  A  nature  trained  to  the  indulgence  of  evil 
thoughts  or  h  abits  will  find  itself,  sometime  and  somewhere, 
compelled  to  pass  through  furnace  fires  of  discipline  to  fit  it 
for  the  better  life. 


INHARMONIOUS  THOUGHTS. 

How  very  little  we  know  of  the  subtle  and  unseen  forces, 
the  exquisite  life  principles,  that  control  these  bodies  of  ours. 
The  nerves  are  so  extremely  sensitive  that  they  may  be  affected 
even  by  unkind  and  inharmonious  thoughts,  which,  reacting 
upon  the  body,  produce  headache,  loss  of  appetite,  indigestion, 
etc.,  disturbing  all  the  currents  of  being.  Some  persons  are  so 
sensitive  as  to  be  conscious  of  the  cause  of  the  disturbances 
affecting  the  physical  health;  others  are  affected  all  the  same 
without  realizing  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  Spirits  on  the  other 
side  of  life,  especially  those  who  are  skilled  in  the  art  of  com- 
municating with  mortals,  understand  these  things  much  better 
than  we  do.  In  entrancing  their  mediums  they  often  find 


(llVE    IT    T1MK.  257 

conditions  in  the  way  of  perfect  control  that  the  mortal  would 
never  think  of,  and  they  understand  dealing  with  those  subtle 
forces  much  better  than  do  mortals. 

GIVE  IT  TIME. 

If  Spiritualists  were  more  deeply  schooled  and  grounded 
in  the  philosophy  and  religion  of  Spiritualism,  they  would  rank 
higher  among  the  world's  reformers,  because  they  would  then 
carry  their  faith  into  their  works.  The  attention  of  many 
intelligent  people  on  a  low  spiritual  plane  of  life — Atheists, 
materialists,  and  sometimes  people  of  questionable  morality 
and  practices — is  arrested  by  the  phenomenal  facts  of  Spiritual- 
ism. They  are  forced  to  admit  the  truth  of  spirit  existence 
and  return,  and  henceforth  they  are  called  Spiritualists.  But 
they  are  so  only  in  name,  until  their  natures  become  quickened 
by-  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  they  ascend  into  the  higher  realm  of 
being.  Spiritualism  is  doing  for  these  people  what  no  other 
system  of  philosophy  or  religion  could  do.  But  we  must  give 
it  time  for  the  leaven  to  work. 


He  who  would  win  the  race  must  fix  his  eyes  upon  the 
good,  and  press  forward  for  the  prize.  Man  is  surrounded  with 
so  many  temptations  to  a  life  of  indolent  ease — so  much  to 
encumber  his  spirit  and  weigh  him  down, — and  then  Necessity 
steps  in  with  her  imperious  demands,  which  can  be  attained 
often  only  by  hard  contest,  in  a  field  of  fierce  competition,  with 
others  struggling  for  the  same  end,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that 
so  fewr  are  able  to  climb  the  upper  heights  of  being  in  this  life. 
But  is  it  not  well  to  "try  again,"  and  with  a  firmer  purpose? 

As  night  shuts  out  the  light  of  day,  and  covers  earth  with 
a  pall  of  gloom,  so  unkind  thoughts  shut  out  the  light  and  love 
of  the  Infinite  Spirit,  that  would  otherwise  stream  into  the 
soul,  filling  it  with  a  radiance  and  glory  all  divine.  If  we 


258  SIMRMTAT.     FRACMK.N  IS. 

wc-uld  live  in  the  warmth  and  glow  of  spiritual  truth,  we 
should  seek  patiently  for  the  path,  and  walk  steadily  and 
truthfully  therein. 

<tl  KSTIONS. 

A  correspondent  writes:  "Will  you  please  answer  the  fol- 
lowing questions: — (i)  What  is  Soul — is  it  material — of  what 
kind  of  Matter  is  it  ?  (2)  What  is  the  spirit  of  Man — is  it 
material  and  of  what  kind?  (31  What  is  Thought — are 
thoughts  material — how  tangible  are  they? 

i st.  We  understand  soul  to  be  the  material  covering  or 
body  of  the  spirit,  just  as  the  physical  body  is  the  covering  oT 
both  soul  and  spirit.  When  the  spirit,  which  is  the  conscious 
ego,  leaves  the  body,  it  takes  its  house  to  live  in  with  it.  This 
is  what  is  termed  the  spirit  body,  and  it  is  composed  of  the 
finer  emanations  of  the  physical  body — has  weight,  substance 
and  tangibility, — that  is,  to  spiritual  sense.  We  must  remem- 
ber that  there  are  many  forms  of  matter  of  which  our  physical 
senses  are  indifferently  cognizant.  Why  may  there  not  be 
infinite  varieties  and  gradations  of  matter  entirely  beyond  the 
ken  of  our  physical  senses,  as  indeed,  we  know  there  is  in 
some  directions,  as  science  has  demonstrated? 

2d.  The  spirit  of  man  we  regard  as  the  divine  essence, 
which,  acting  upon  matter,  manifests  intelligence.  This  may 
be  a  still  finer  form  of  matter,  for  ought  man  may  know. 

3d.  Thought  is  the  expression  of  the  spirit  through 
matter,  bearing  with  it  something  of  the  substance  through 
which  it  passes.  Thus,  thoughts  are  things,  or  rather,  they 
become  things  whenever  they  seek  expression.  Their  degree 
of  tangibility  may  be  measured  by  the  force  and  power  with 
which  they  impinge  themselves  upon  the  consciousness  of 
others. 

We  do  not  think  any  of  us  know  much  about  matter  or 
spirit,  or  whether  they  are  not  all  one  in  essence,  but  differing 
in  degree.  When  we  know  more  we  shall  be  glad  to  say  more, 


MUSTERED    OUT.  259 

Ml  STEKET>  OFT. 

Note  the  gray  heads  in  any  of  our  public  audiences — the 
large  number  of  men  and  women  who  are  on  the  down  grade, 
and  rapidly  nearing  the  silent  river.  The  fierce  combat  and 
struggle  for  life  is  nearly  or  quite  over  with  them,  and,  with 
tired  hearts  and  bleeding  feet,  they  are  waiting  for  the  ambuL 
ance  to  gather  them  in.  And  yet  we  know  there  are  many  to 
whom  gray  hairs  bring  no  regrets.  They  have  "fought  the 
good  fight,"  and  are  glad  that  they  are  nearing  home.  Not 
for  worlds  would  they  have  it  otherwise.  Get  ready,  old 
soldiers  of  the  grand  army  of  life, — ye  are  about  to  be  mus- 
tered out.  Square  up  your  accounts  with  the  commissary  de- 
partment, polish  up  your  uniform  for  the  last  grand  review,  and 
patiently  wait  marching  orders  for  home  !  There  are  many 
loved  faces  aLthe  window  watching  for  your  coming. 

"Excelsior!"  shouldbe  the  motto  of  every  Spiritualist. 
No  one  should  be  content  to  sit  down  in  quiet  satisfaction  with 
sensuous  phenomena.  All  should  seek  for  the  mountain  height 
of  spiritual  unfoldment  and  delight;  they  should  ascend  the 
ladder  reached  down  to  them  from  the  angel  world,  resolved 
to  become  one  with  the  Divine  Spirit — fit  companions  for  the 
highest  and  best  in  God's  beautiful  realm  of  individualized 
spirit  intelligences. 

:•: 
:•••     :•: 

Love  is  the  panacea  for  all  ills.  It  will  heal  all  sorrow, 
cure  all  strife,  bind  up  all  broken  hearts,  solve  all  problems  of 
social  or  civil  discord,  and  lead  the  race  up  out  of  the 
wilderness^ of  error  and  inharmony,  and  out  into  the  promised 
land  flowing  with  the  milk  and  honey  of  peace  and  plenty.  To 
bring  the  entire  race  under  the  dominion  of  love,  it  is  only 
necessary  for  each  individual  to  place  himself  in  harmony  with 
the  higher  law  of  his  own  spirit. 


260  SPIRITUAL    FRAGMENTS. 

AVhen  the  clouds  and  rubbish  shall  be  swept  away  from 
our  beautiful  Spiritualism,  the  light  of  its  glorious  truth  will 
shine  forth  brighter  than  ever.  Spiritualists  have  no  one  but 
themselves  to  blame  for  the  prominence  that  has  been  given  to 
the  delusions  and  falsities  that  have  been  practiced  in  the 
name  of  Spiritualism  by  some  persons  possessing  but  very  little, 
if  any,  real  mediumship.  No  honest  mediums,  of  whom  there 
are  many,  need  fear  the  most  thorough  investigation. 

*** 

What  is  there  more  beautiful  in  all  God's  universe  than  a 
beautiful  soul — a  gentle,  loving  nature,  bubbling  over  with 
kind  thoughts  for  all  humanity,  and  ever  finding  expression  in 
generous  deeds.  We  have  known  and  still  know  many  such. 
Some  have  passed  on  to  realms  of  light  and  love,  and  are  now 
of  the  shining  one  ;  and  some,  with  their  brows  encircled  with 
a  halo  of  glory,  are  waiting  trustingly  on  the  shores  of  time, — 
golden  grain  ripe  for  the  reaper's  sickle. 

:•: 

Good  average  sense  should  teach  a  man  that  the  condition 
of  mind  and  quality  of  action  that  produce  the  greatest  measure 
of  health  and  happiness  in  this  life  is  the  right  condition  and 
action  to  cultivate  and  practice.  There  is  nothing  so  promotive 
of  health  as  temperance  in  all  things,  and  nothing  that  affords 
so  much  lasting  satisfaction  as  good  deeds  done  to  others. 

"The  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth." 
How  often  we  hear  these  words  mumbled  over  in  our  courts, 
and  in  other  places  where  official  oaths  are  administered, 
making  no  more  impression,  often,  on  the  mind  of  the  affiant 
than  if  uttered  in  Choctow.  And  yet  they  contain  the  pearl  of 
all  earthly  knowledge — all  that  is  desirable  in  science  or  religion 
— the  true  end  and  aim  of  all  research.  This  is  the  priceless 
gem  that  all  should 


OF  THE 

UNIVER-SIT"?! 


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|     IFBRARV  USE    Jl 
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I  DUE  NRLF  APR  8 
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1987 

DEC  I  ^  2003 

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